Access Holdings Q1 Profit Jumps 18% Amid ₦73.8bn Impairment Charge

Access Holdings Plc’s first-quarter profit after tax rose 18.5% to ₦216.53 billion from ₦182.75 billion, tempered by soaring bad-loan charges amid Nigeria’s lending pressures.

Interest income dipped 14.4% to ₦824.75 billion, but interest expense cuts to ₦556.17 billion lifted net interest income 53.9% to ₦338.86 billion. Impairments exploded 239% to ₦73.8 billion—including ₦23.3 billion on loans (up 116%)—leaving post-provision net interest income at ₦265 billion.

Revenue Offsets

Fee and commission income grew 15.7% to ₦169.24 billion, while fair-value and FX gains edged to ₦223.76 billion. Personnel costs climbed 24.6% to ₦131.64 billion; other expenses rose 27% to ₦271.57 billion. Investment securities write-backs surged to ₦27.49 billion.

Pretax profit hit ₦272.2 billion, up 22%, signaling resilience despite NPL risks in a high-rate environment.

Financial Scorecard: The Income and Provisioning Engine

Access Holding’s first-quarter performance reveals a sharp reduction in interest expense, which drove net interest income higher despite a drop in gross interest income.

Source: Access Holdings

Impairment Pressures: A 239% surge in net impairment charges on financial assets (from ₦21.77 billion to ₦73.8 billion) absorbed a significant portion of the operating revenue. Specific provisions on loans and advances to customers rose by 116% to ₦23.3 billion, while FVOCI and AMC investment securities recorded a significant 8,629% jump to ₦27.49 billion.

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