Nigerian lender Access Holdings witnessed an advance in net income by nearly one-tenth in the first three months of the year, its unaudited financial statement issued on Thursday showed, much as a steep spike in op-ex arrested profit.
Gross earnings summed up to N340.4 billion, 53 per cent higher when set beside the figure for the relative period of last year.
Access Holdings’ shares, listed in Lagos, climbed 0.51 per cent following the earnings release.
The financial services group incurred N44.6 billion as net loss on financial instruments at fair value in stark contrast to a net gain of N27.1 billion a year earlier. That had implications for operating expenses, shooting it up 76.8 per cent to N161.8 billion.
Herbert Wigwe-led Access Holdings completed a conversion to a holding company this March, giving it leave to branch out into other financial services like payments, insurance and asset management.
The financial group, which operates in sixteen markets, has revealed an ambition to be numbered among the five largest banks on the continent in five years.
“My sense is that by 2027, you will see us getting close to one of the top-5 banks in the continent,” from its current ranking of 12th, Wigwe told a press conference in Lagos last month.
Pre-tax profit for the period in question stood at N65.1 billion, compared to a year earlier when it was N60.1 billion. Net profit climbed 9.2 per cent to N57.4 billion.
The lender said in a separate document it would pay on Thursday April 28 the 70 kobo earlier announced on March 18 as the final dividend for 2021 instead as an interim dividend by Asset Holdings.
It said last year it planned to set up offices in Hong Kong and Paris by this June, and has stated another aspiration to foray into six new countries.
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