Access Holdings Bad Loan Impairments Double, Capping Profit Gains Amid 58% Income Drop, No Dividend Payout

Access Holdings Plc reported full-year 2025 profit growth of 15.6% even as bad-loan impairments more than doubled and total comprehensive income plunged 58%, prompting the group to skip its dividend payout.

Profit after tax climbed to ₦743 billion from ₦642 billion, supported by interest income of ₦3.27 trillion (up 5.4%) and net fee gains of ₦585 billion (up 40.9%). Net gains on fair-value instruments soared to ₦1.049 trillion from ₦416 billion, lifting pretax profit to ₦1.007 trillion.

Key Headwinds

Impairment charges on financial assets ballooned 113% to ₦523.55 billion from ₦245 billion, slashing net interest income after provisions by 18.4% to ₦833 billion. Personnel costs rose 32% to ₦504 billion, while other expenses hit ₦1 trillion.

Impairment charge for impairment on loans and advance to customers jumped 209% to ₦287.3 billion, while Impairment charge on impairment on financial assets in other assets rose by 463% to ₦258.8 billion.

Total comprehensive income cratered to ₦459 billion from ₦1.01 trillion, dragged by a ₦272 billion foreign-currency translation loss and ₦137 billion fair-value hit on debt securities.

No Payout for Investors

The provisioning surge meant Access Holdings, parent of Access Bank, withheld 2025 dividends amid Nigeria’s high non-performing loan pressures. The move underscores regulatory demands for balance-sheet cleanup in a tough economic climate.