Access Holdings posts N667.4bn pre-tax profit as bad-loan charges fall 73.5%

Access Holdings Plc made a pre-tax profit of N667.4 billion in the nine months to September 30, 2026, an 8.3 per cent rise from N616.2 billion a year earlier.

Profit after tax climbed 5.9 per cent to N474.2 billion, according to the interim financial statements the banking group filed on the Nigerian Exchange.

The biggest push came from a sharp fall in the money set aside for loans that may not be repaid. Impairment charges dropped 73.5 per cent to N92.9 billion, from N350 billion in the same period of 2025.

With those charges lower, net interest income after impairment climbed 32.1 per cent to about N1.2 trillion, from N908 billion.

In the third quarter alone, pre-tax profit rose 52.26 per cent to N253.2 billion, up from N166.3 billion in Q3 2025.

What this means for shareholders

The group said it is working to clear a regulatory hurdle that has stood in the way of dividend payments. Section 19(8)(c) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) caps how much a bank may put into its subsidiaries.

To meet that rule, Access Holdings is pulling capital back from six banking subsidiaries. One recall is done, shareholders have approved four of the remaining five, and regulatory approvals are moving forward, the group said.

It expects to wrap up within the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) timeline, which it said would lift the barrier to dividends. Any payout will still depend on the group's finances, distributable reserves and regulatory approval.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Innocent Ike said the numbers showed the strength of the group's core earnings.

"The significant reduction in impairment charges, together with growth in net interest income after impairment and net fee and commission income, demonstrates the resilience of our core earnings base," Ike said.

Fee and commission income rose 8.4 per cent to N650.9 billion, while costs on those activities fell 6.9 per cent to N115.9 billion, so net fee and commission income grew 12.4 per cent to N534.9 billion.

Costs weighed on the overall picture. Operating expenses rose 11.8 per cent to N1.3 trillion and other operating income fell 40.8 per cent to N234.5 billion, pulling total operating income down 3.2 per cent to N2.06 trillion.

The cost-to-income ratio was 63.13 per cent, against 51.7 per cent for full-year 2025 and 65.2 per cent in the first half of 2026.

Total assets grew 1.7 per cent to N52.6 trillion, customer deposits rose 6.6 per cent to N36.9 trillion, and loans to customers increased 7.4 per cent to N14.3 trillion.

Most of the banking group's profit now comes from outside Nigeria. International banking subsidiaries brought in 43.7 per cent of pre-tax profit, the rest of Africa 38.5 per cent, and Nigeria 17.8 per cent.

The group said its Scale-to-Value strategy rests on five priorities: execution capacity, risk governance and regulatory compliance, capital discipline, operating efficiency and earnings quality.