Access Bank’s Post-Merger Profit Hits N90.7bn in Q3
By UMORU ABDULKADIR
Access Bank Plc Friday released its unaudited financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019, showing positive figures across most financial indicators.
The Financial Statement which was published on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday showed that it recorded a 44.2 per cent increase in its Profit After Tax (PAT) in the third quarter period ended September 30, 2019.
According to the results, the bank grew its profit after tax to N90.7 billion in the ended period of September 30, 2019, up from N62.9 billion of the corresponding period of 2018, representing a 44.2 per cent improvement in profits, while its gross earnings for the same period also rose to N405 billion, up from N274.5 billion in the comparative period of 2018, and indication of 47.5 per cent rise in earnings. This tremendous jump in earnings is not unconnected with the merger of Access Bank and Diamond Bank concluded in the first quarter of 2019.
Similarly, the company grew its profit before tax (PBT) to N103.1 billion during the period in focus, up from NN70.3 billion of the corresponding period of 2018, representing a 46.7 per cent improvement, while its gross earnings for the period also advanced to N64.8 billion, up from N48.9 billion of the corresponding period of 2018, and indication of 32.3 per cent increase.
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, the group recorded N210.2 billion Net interest income, up from N122.9 billion achieved as at the end of the third quarter of September 2018 before the merger. This signifies an increase of 70.9 per cent rise income, while also growing it shareholders’ equity by 25.3 per cent to N614.8 billion in the same period when compared to N490.5 billion of the corresponding period of 2018.
A further analysis of the bank’s financial statement shows that it made N65 billion in net fee & commission income over the past nine months of 2019, representing a 49.5 per cent increase when compared with N374 billion generated in the corresponding period of 2018.
During the period under consideration, the lender’s total assets rose to N6.61 trillion, up from N4.95 trillion of the same period in 2018, signifying a 33.3 per cent growth, while its total liabilities for the same period grew higher by 34.2 per cent to N5.99 trillion, up from N4.46 trillion of the corresponding time of 2018, a growth rate higher than that of the total assets.
To demonstrate its strong drive to contribute to the set target of 80 per cent Financial Inclusion rate by December 2019, it grew the lender’s deposit from customers for the period to N628.5 billion, up from N229.9 billion of the corresponding period of 2018, representing a progressive growth of 173.4 per cent.
The company’s earnings per share for the period ended September 30, 2019, increased by 31.6 per cent to stand at N2.79k, as against N2.12k achieved in the third quarter of 2018. However, its net gains on investment securities dipped significantly 95.57% to N3.23 billion in Q3 2019 from N75.10 billion in Q3 2018.
Due to the merger, the bank’s personnel cost increased, as it incurred more personnel cost, spending N54.7 billion to pay staff salaries and other personnel expenses. This signifies 32.1 per cent rise when compared to N41.4 billion of the corresponding period of 2018, while its impairment provision on credit losses stood at N10.61 billion, representing a 27.02 per cent increase
As part of efforts to meet the December 31, 2019, the bank grew its loans and advances to customers’ portfolio to N206.3 billion, up from N216 billion of September 2018, representing an 854.9 per cent improvement on the previous performance,
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