April 1, 2021
By Evans Charles InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s tier one (1) lender, Access Bank Plc said on Thurday its post-tax profit for the period ended December 31, 2020 grew 12.70 percent to N106.01 billion from N94.06 billion recorded a year ago.
In the same vein, pretax profit increased 12.50 percent to N125.92 billion from N111.93 billion declared the same period 2019.
Gross earnings of Access Bank increased to N764.72 billion in 2020 year end from N666.75 billion posted the previous year, showing an increase of 14.69 percent, the lender in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Access Bank proposed a final dividend of 55 kobo per share compared to 0.40 kobo per share final dividend declared in 2019 end, the lender had earlier paid 25 kobo per share in the half year (H1) period representing a total dividend of 0.80 kobo per share.
“We also recorded consistent growth in our retail banking business, leading to a 5.8mn growth in customer sign-on during the year via our financial inclusion drive and retail revenue of N177.2bn (FY 2019: ₦107.8bn). Customer deposits grew by 31% to N5.59trn in Dec 2020 (Dec 2019: ₦4.26trn) with savings account deposits of N1.31trn. Similarly, net loans and advances grew by 18% to N3.61trn (Dec 2019: ₦3.06trn). Our asset quality also continued to improve as guided to 4.3% (Dec. 2019 5.8%) as we intensified recovery efforts, undertook significant write off and leveraged our robust risk management practices This is expected to continue to trend downwards as we strive to surpass the standard we had built in the industry prior to the merger with Diamond Bank,” a statement from the bank said on Thursday.
According to Access Bank, the strategic actions that it has taken over the past 12 months evidenced a strong focus on retail banking and financial inclusion, an African expansion strategy and a drive for scale for sustainable value creation.
Last year the nation’s top tier lender proudly opened its doors for business in Kenya and Mozambique, further increasing our footprints across the African Continent. Access Bank Zambia also concluded the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited in January 2021 and the Group recently announced the approval by relevant regulatory authorities for the acquisition of Grobank Limited, creating an inroad into the South African market in realization of the Group’s strategic ambitions.
“In view of the opportunities that exist in the market, we will be transitioning to a HoldCo structure. The Bank has received the Approval-In-Principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the restructuring and the HoldCo will consist of 4 subsidiaries in order to tap into the market opportunities that are available in the consumer lending market, electronic payments industry and retail insurance market,” the statement added.
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