May 2, 2025/Cordros Report
Access Holdings Plc (ACCESSCORP) released their unaudited financials after close of business on Wednesday (30 April), reporting a 12.2% y/y growth in EPS to NGN4.88, supported by growth across its core (+36.3% y/y) and non-core (+63.0% y/y) income lines.
Interest income rose by 36.3% y/y, largely driven by a 73.5% y/y increase in income from loans to customers. However, this was partly offset by declines in income from loans to banks (-19.2% y/y) and placements with banks (-38.7% y/y).
Despite the topline growth, interest expense expanded at a faster pace (+71.3% y/y to NGN760.47 billion), reflecting higher costs on customer deposits (+118.8% y/y), bank deposits (+37.3% y/y), and borrowings (+61.6% y/y). As a result, net interest income declined by 20.1% y/y.
Non-interest income also increased (+63.0% y/y to NGN373.45 billion), driven by strong growth in net fees and commissions (+68.4% y/y) and income from investment securities (+104.3% y/y), which offset the modest decline in FX-related income (-2.2% y/y).
Elsewhere, operating expenses increased by 25.0% y/y due to higher costs incurred on personnel (+32.2% y/y), IT (+87.3% y/y) and NDIC premium (+87.5% y/y). Eventually, cost-to-income ratio (ex-LLE) deteriorated to 58.8% in Q1-25 (Q1-24: 55.3%).
Overall, profit before tax grew by 9.9% y/y, while profit after tax settled 14.7% y/y higher, following the 7.9% y/y decline in income tax expense.
Comment: ACCESSCORP recorded strong interest income; however, elevated funding costs caused net interest income (NII) to decline. Nonetheless, the HoldCo’s robust asset portfolio supported gains across non-interest income lines, driving overall profitability growth. For the rest of the year, we expect the positive momentum to be sustained, supported by improved risky asset creation and the high-yield environment. Our estimates are under review.
