Access Holdings Plc has reported a 14% increase in gross earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2025. Despite the rise, profit after tax droped by 2.2%.
Earnings Performance
Gross earnings surged 14.1% to N3.9 trillion from N3.42 trillion in same period last year due to robust interest and non-interest income.
Interest income rose to ₦2.74 trillion, up from ₦2.16 trillion in the same period of 2024, reflecting increased yields on loans and investments. Interest income from financial assets at fair value through profit or loss contributed ₦159.41 billion, while interest expense increased slightly to ₦1.65 trillion due to higher funding costs.
Consequently, net interest income climbed by 49% to ₦1.26 trillion from ₦844.84 billion a year earlier. After accounting for a net impairment charge of ₦349.99 billion, net interest income after impairment stood at ₦907.96 billion.
Fee and commission income grew sharply to ₦600.40 billion, supported by strong transaction volumes across digital channels and payment services, while fair value and foreign exchange gains amounted to ₦255.40 billion.
Personnel expenses increased to ₦358.56 billion from ₦282.18 billion in the prior year. Other operating expenses declined slightly to ₦714.20 billion from ₦733.97 billion.
The group’s operating profit rose to ₦616.25 billion from ₦558.18 billion in 2024. After a tax expense of ₦168.70 billion, profit after tax stood at ₦447.55 billion, compared to ₦457.74 billion in the previous year.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) stood at ₦8.00 compared to ₦12.40 in Q3 2024, reflecting a higher share base following the group’s capital restructuring.
Balance Sheet
Access Holdings’ total assets rose significantly to ₦52.20 trillion as of September 2025, compared to ₦41.50 trillion at the end of 2024, underscoring its aggressive growth strategy.
Major components of total assets included:
- Loans and advances to customers: ₦12.89 trillion (up from ₦11.49 trillion)
- Investment securities: ₦15.25 trillion (₦11.34 trillion in 2024)
- Cash and balances with banks: ₦8.73 trillion (₦5.22 trillion
- Restricted deposits and other assets: ₦6.99 trillion
Similarly, total liabilities grew to ₦48.22 trillion from ₦37.74 trillion in December 2024, driven mainly by deposit growth.
Major components of liabilities
- Customer deposits: ₦33.10 trillion (up from ₦22.52 trillion)
- Deposits from financial institutions: ₦4.88 trillion
- Borrowings: ₦2.24 trillion
Shareholders’ equity rose to ₦3.73 trillion, from ₦3.54 trillion as of December 2024, buoyed by retained earnings of ₦1.52 trillion and additional Tier 1 capital of ₦206.36 billion. Non-controlling interests accounted for ₦254.0 billion, bringing total equity to ₦3.98 trillion.
Cash Flow
Access Holdings generated a net ₦6.08 trillion cash inflow from operating activities. Investing activities used ₦2.00 trillion, mainly due to acquisition of investment securities and capital expenditure. Financing activities resulted in a net outflow of ₦468 billion, largely due to dividend payments and debt servicing.
Overall, net cash and cash equivalents rose to ₦9.01 trillion at the end of September 2025, compared to ₦6.08 trillion at the start of the year — an increase of ₦3.61 trillion.
On Friday, the share price rose 6.3% to close at N24.45 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
