Access Bank Rakes In N348.9 Billion Profit In 2024 H1, Reports N412 Billion As “Unrealized” FX Gains
Nigeria’s largest bank by total assets, Access Bank, has reported a N348.9 billion pre-tax profit in the first half of 2024.
This was revealed by the company’s half-year audited filings published on the website of the NGX recently.
The pre-tax profit recorded is a combination of the first and second quarters of 2024, in the first quarter the company reported N202.7 billion, while the second quarter pre-tax profit stands at N146.1 billion.
Access Banks’ second-quarter results reveal year-on-year growth across all major income lines. However, when compared to the previous quarter, there was a general dip in performance during the second quarter.
The bank recorded N752.5 billion in Interest Income an impressive 113% increase and N237.6 billion in Net Interest Income an 84.3% increase.
The Loan Impairments stand at N99.9 billion, a 441.2% surge while Operating Income stands at N585.4 billion, a 132.5% increase.
While its Operating Expenses stand at N439.7 billion, a 164.7% increase in Pre-tax profits with a 69.97% increase stands at N146.1 billion.
For Loans and advances, the bank recorded N12.2 trillion, a 45% increase and reported Total deposits of N27.3 trillion with an 83.1% increase.
Its Total Assets stand at N36.5 trillion, with a 75.5% surge while Net Assets stand at N2.72 trillion with a 65.3% surge.
EPS (YTD) is N7.61 per share and its Dividend is 45 kobo
Revenue
In addition to the pre-tax profit of N348.9 billion, the corporation also reported a total comprehensive income of N646.34 billion after including an “unrealized foreign currency translation difference” of N412.8 billion.
Regarding fees and commissions, the bank reported earnings of N250.9 billion in the first half of the year, with notable contributions from credit-related fees (N91.7 billion), e-business income (N73.8 billion), and account maintenance and handling commissions (N29.58 billion). Furthermore, it incurred N37 billion in expenses associated with its e-banking services.
The bank experienced a significant increase in personnel expenses, which rose dramatically from N65.1 billion to N158.8 billion, marking a 143.9% increase.
An analysis indicates that this may be attributed to heightened hiring and promotions, as the staff count grew from 7,567 to 8,009. Additionally, the number of employees earning N14.9 million and above surged from 1,193 to 1,782 within a six-month period. The managerial staff also saw an increase, climbing from 621 to 968.
Other notable contributors to the bank’s costs include IT and e-business expenditures, which soared by 265% to N111.2 billion. The AMCON surcharge also escalated to N111.2 billion, up from N68.8 billion the previous year.
Furthermore, travel expenses more than doubled, increasing from N10.7 billion to N24.5 billion. Overall, operating expenses surged by 128% to N512 billion, primarily driven by IT and e-business costs as well as AMCON surcharges.
In terms of subsidiary performance, all foreign subsidiaries, except for Access Bank South Africa and Kenya, reported pre-tax profits. Access Bank South Africa and Kenya recorded pre-tax losses of N7.6 billion and N3 billion, respectively.
Access Bank UK and Access Bank Ghana emerged as the leading contributors, generating pre-tax profits of N111.1 billion and N40 billion, respectively. Access Holdings’ new FinTech venture, Hydrogen Payment Services, reported a pre-tax profit of N238 million from revenues of N3.1 billion, compared to N161 million during the same period last year.
Access Pension, a recently acquired PFA, reported revenues of N7.1 billion, while ARM Pension, also newly acquired, generated revenues of N8 billion, both showing profitability. Additionally, Access Golf, another subsidiary, reported revenues of N1.9 billion.