October 27, 2025/Cordros Report
Access Holdings Plc (ACCESSCORP) released its audited H1-25 financials after close of business on Friday (October 24), reporting a 51.1% y/y decline in earnings per share (EPS) to NGN3.72 (H1-24: NGN7.61 billion). This came on the back of lower non-core income (-44.8% y/y), which undermined the group’s strong asset yield of 15.4% in the review period.
Gross earnings grew by 12.5% y/y to NGN2.42 trillion, supported by a 38.9% y/y increase in interest income to NGN2.04 trillion, driven mainly by higher returns on investment securities (+46.1% y/y to NGN956.56 billion) and loans to customers (+36.3% y/y to NGN946.42 billion). However, income from loans to banks declined by 11.5% y/y, reflecting lower interbank placements.
As expected, funding costs also remained elevated, with interest expense up 10.5% y/y to NGN1.06 trillion. We attribute this to the higher customer deposit costs (+21.2% y/y), which undermined the lower funding costs from financial institutions (-2.9% y/y). Overall, net interest income surged by 91.8% y/y to NGN984.63 billion, benefiting from strong asset yields. However, we saw credit impairment charges almost double (+87.4% y/y to NGN230.07 billion) as the group bolstered provisioning in line with the CBN’s directives. Accordingly, net interest income ex-LLE increased by 93.2% y/y to NGN754.56 billion.
Non-interest income fell sharply by 44.8% y/y to NGN374.22 billion, largely due to the lower fair value gains on equity investments (-96.2% y/y). On a positive note, net fees and commissions grew by 16.1% y/y to NGN237.66 billion, causing operating income to inch up by 5.7% y/y NGN1.13 trillion.
Operating expenses increased by 12.4% y/y to NGN808.21 billion, buoyed by higher personnel costs (+44.3% y/y), AMCON levy (+37.5% y/y), and NDIC premiums (+47.5% y/y). The combination of the preceding undermined the decline in IT costs (-37.6% y/y) recorded during the period.
Overall, profit before tax (PBT) declined by 8.1% y/y to NGN320.57 billion, while income tax expense rose 54.7% y/y to NGN104.57 billion, amplifying the 23.2% y/y decline in PAT to NGN216.01 billion.
Comment: While Access Holdings Plc maintained strong core income momentum, earnings performance in H1-25 was weighed down by weaker trading and FX revaluation gains as well as elevated operating costs. Notably, the group’s balance sheet remains resilient, with an H1-25 NPL ratio of 2.7% (H1-24: 2.8%). Going into H2-25, we expect net core earnings to remain sturdy on the back of tapering funding costs and steady asset yields, although sustained pressure from credit charges and regulatory costs may continue to temper profitability. Our estimates are under review.
