Access Holdings grew profits by 306.91 per cent to N619.32bn for the financial year 2023 from N152.20bn recorded in the previous year.
This was disclosed in the consolidated and separate statement of financials for 2023 filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday.
The late Group Managing Director of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, who died in a helicopter crash in February in the USA, along with his wife, son and former NGX chairman, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, oversaw the affairs of the financial holding company in 2023.
According to the Holdco financial results, revenue increased by 86.95 per cent to N2.59tn from N1.39tn in the previous year.
It stated that the increase in revenue was “from interest income, which grew by 100 per cent year-on-year and non-interest income (67.9 per cent year-on-year growth)”.
“Growth in interest income reflects a higher yield environment, supported by a 62 per cent year-on-year expansion in earning assets. Improvement in non-interest income was from growth in related key income lines (trading income, fees & commissions, e-business income) and an increased volume of transactions across our expanding retail network and digital channels,” it added.
The N628.93bn foreign exchange gain recorded during the period under review also contributed significantly to the group’s profit.
Its assets also rose significantly by 77.94 per cent to N26.89tn from N14.99tn in the previous year.
Access Corporation’s shareholders will be getting about a N63.98bn dividend at N1.80 for every ordinary share of N0.50 each, subject to appropriate withholding tax, bringing the total dividend for 2023 to N2.10 per share.
Customer deposits increased by 65.6 per cent year-on-year to N15.3 trillion from N9.3tn in 2022, driven by a combined growth of 75 per cent in demand deposits and 47 per cent in savings accounts.
Tenored deposits also grew year-on-year, as loans & advances were up by 60.5 per cent to N8.9tn from N5.6tn in 2022.
Non-performing loan ratio improved to 2.8 per cent from 3.2 per cent in 2022 and shareholder funds closed at N2.18tn in 2023, about 77.5 per cent higher than the 2022 position of N1.23tn.
During the period under review, AccessCorp lost N6.15bn to fraud and forgery incidents compared to N1.44bn in 2022.
Operating expenses increased by 38.9 per cent to N697.5bn, reflective of the operating environment as headline inflation in Nigeria closed at 29.82 per cent for December 2023.
In 2023, the banking group and non-banking subsidiaries expanded their footprint and franchise as Access Holdings Plc completed the $300m capital investment facility into Access Banking Group.
Access Bank UK opened a branch in Paris and received regulatory approval to commence operations in Hong Kong.