For the nine-month period ending September 2026, Access Holdings Plc registered a pre-tax profit of N667.36bn, marking an 8.29 per cent rise compared to the N616.25bn reported during the same timeframe in 2025. This financial advancement was largely propelled by lower credit impairment charges and steady expansion in both interest and fee revenues.
Key figures from the financial statement indicate that profit after tax for the nine-month duration advanced by 5.95 per cent to reach N474.17bn, up from N447.55bn in the preceding year, while basic earnings per share moved slightly from N8.00 to N8.02. The institution published these figures alongside its half-year results on November 2, 2026, following prior adjustments required for regulatory clearances from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
How did credit impairment impact the financial outcome?
A principal driver behind the group's earnings resilience was a substantial drop in impairment provisions. These charges tumbled by 73.45 per cent down to N92.91bn, contrasting sharply with the N349.99bn documented a year prior. This decrease preserved about N257.08bn, counterbalancing mounting funding expenditures and administrative outlays.
Interest income expanded by 6.91 per cent to total N3.10tn from N2.90tn, whereas net interest income experienced a more modest 2.74 per cent growth, settling at N1.29tn compared to N1.26tn. This slower progression in net interest figures stemmed from higher funding pressures, as interest expenses grew by 10.09 per cent to N1.81tn, outstripping top-line interest expansion. Earnings generated from customer loans climbed to N1.54tn from N1.38tn, though interest paid out on customer deposits escalated more steeply to N1.25tn from N805.62bn.
What trends shaped the third quarter performance?
During the third quarter of 2026, the financial institution staged a notable sequential rebound, with pre-tax profit climbing 78.43 per cent to N253.23bn relative to the N141.92bn posted in the second quarter. Nevertheless, this performance fell short of the N295.68bn achieved in the corresponding period of 2025.
Quarterly profit after tax surged significantly by 313.41 per cent to N207.45bn in Q3, up from N50.18bn in Q2, aided by a drop in tax expenses to N45.78bn from N91.74bn. Conversely, specific revenue channels contracted during the three-month window; fee and commission earnings dropped by 23.72 per cent, and other operating income decreased to N11.61bn from N49.86bn. Staff costs increased by 20.51 per cent to N432.12bn, and other operating expenditures went up by 6.03 per cent to N757.26bn.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded slightly to N52.60tn compared to N52.20tn a year earlier, while cash and cash equivalents contracted by 27.54 per cent to N6.53tn from N9.01tn.