••• Declares 25k dividend for shareholders
COMFORT EKELEME
Access Bank says it recorded gross earnings of N174bn within the first half of 2016.
This represents an increase of three per cent over the N168.3bn it generated during the same period in 2015, while proposing an interim dividend of 25Kobo per share.
According to the bank’s audited financial results released recently on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, its gross earnings were driven largely by steady income growth from the bank’s core business, as interest income grew by 14per cent to N112.3billion in the first half of 2016 from N98.9billion in the comparative period of 2015.
The Group equally posted a profit before tax of N50billion, a 28per cent year on year increase from N39.1billion. Profit after tax was up26 per cent in 2016 to N39.4billion, compared to N31.3billion in first half of 2015.
Access Bank Plc has released its audited results for the first half ended 30 June 2016, showing positive growth in financial indices.
According to the report, the group recorded a strong performance in the first six months of the year, reasserting its capacity and resolve to deliver sustainable returns in spite of a tough operating environment.
In the face of challenging operating conditions such as rising inflation and currency devaluation, the bank’s key indices remained stable: Capital adequacy stood above the regulatory minimum at 19per cent, while the percentage of non-performing loans to total gross loans was 1.9 per cent, which is significantly lower than CBN’s threshold and one of the best industries wide.
The Bank also recorded gains in other financial indices, just as its Net Interest Margin (NIM) was up 80bps year on year at 6.4per cent, compared to 5.6per cent from 2015.
Also, its operating Income grew by 11per cent to 130.2billion in half year 2016 compared with 117.6billion in the corresponding period of 2015 while total assets amounted to 3.27trillion, up 26per cent from 2.59trillion in December 2015. Customer deposits grew 17per cent to 1.97trillion from 1.68trillion in December 2015.
Commenting on the results, Group Managing Director stated, Herbert Wigwe, said “The Bank’s performance continues to be resilient in the face of a challenging macro-economic environment, which has been further exacerbated by a double-digit inflation and currency devaluation. Despite these macro uncertainties, we delivered gross earnings of 174billion, while pre-tax profits grew 28per cent to 50billion in the period.
“The results underscore our continued ability to grow sustainably whilst effectively adapting to a challenging operating landscape. The prevalent macro-economic conditions put a strain on business performance across the industry, with increased concerns about asset quality deterioration. Despite these challenges, the Bank’s asset quality remained stable, as non-performing loans stayed below industry average, in line with our guidance. Our capital and liquidity levels were also sustained above regulatory limits.
“During the period, we grew our retail market share, leveraging innovation and technology to create lifestyle products and enhance customer experience. This growth has led to significant increase in our transaction volumes and fee-related income. In addition, our cost of funds dropped by 170 bps year on year, reflecting the increase in our low cost funding base,” he said.
Notwithstanding the high inflation and the impact of the currency devaluation on cost, the Access bank boss added that the bank’s operating cost remained stable owing to “our cost management initiatives. Optimising operational efficiency will remain an imperative for the second half of the year, as we continue to see the benefits of our cost initiatives intensify over the next few months.
“We believe that macro conditions will remain challenging. Nonetheless, our priority in the coming months will be to strengthen our position in the industry; increasing focus on risk and operational efficiency, with customer-centricity at the heart of our strategy,” he maintained.