Access Bank’s Q3 buoyed by reduced provisions, OCI gains
Grows earnings to N365bn
Access bank Nigeria Plc has given insight into its fourth quarter 2014, with its third quarter 2017 result which showed remarkable lower than expected loan loss provisions and significant other comprehensive income (OCI).
Access Bank is a full service commercial bank with headquarters in Nigeria and with operations across Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, Asia and the Middle East, and its Q3 result reflect the Bank’s ability to generate sustainable earnings despite the challenging operating environment.
The bank’s Q3 result for the period ended 30th September 2017, released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, showed that the Group posted increase in profit before tax (PBT) to ₦72.9billion in September 2017 from ₦69.0 billion in September 2016.
The bank also closed the third quarter period with a 4 per cent year-on-year growth in profit after tax (PAT) as it closed the Q3 period higher at ₦56.4 billion from ₦54.1 billion in 2016.
The bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Herbert Wigwe, expressing confidence in the prospects of the bank to deliver even better in the coming months , said that the Access bank continues to gain momentum in its efforts to achieve more diversified earnings, strengthening retail and digital offerings,
He noted that the reporting period marks the last quarter in the last year of the 2013 – 2017 strategic period adding that the Bank remains committed to improving the quality of its balance sheet.
The CEO said, “The Board and Management remain extremely grateful to our more than 8 million customers, shareholders and dedicated employees for enabling us achieve several milestones within this period. We look forward to the next five years, with confidence in our ability to deliver superior service and optimised shareholder value,” Wigwe stated.
Furthermore, the Bank’s Q3 performance showed that operating costs reduced significantly by 18% quarter-on-quarter to ₦49.5 billion in September, reaffirming the Bank’s commitment to rein in costs and improve operating efficiency. Capital and liquidity buffers of 20.5% and 46.0%, respectively, are well above the minimum regulatory requirement.
The results for the nine months ended 30 September 2017 showed 33% growth in gross earnings year-on-year from ₦275bn to ₦365bn, driven primarily by the strong performance on core revenue lines.
Overall, the Group delivered increase in pre-tax profits from ₦69.0bn in September 2016 to ₦72.9bn in September 2017; and closed the period with a 4% year-on-year growth in profit after tax. Profit after Tax (PAT) grew to ₦56.4bn in 2017 from ₦54.1 billion in 2016
Meanwhile, of the revenue lines, non-interest income growth continues to outpace funding income, the former growing by 10% y/y (though clearly slowing down vs Q2) vs the latter’s 1.3% y/y.
