Access Holdings Plc recorded a robust third-quarter (Q3) 2025 performance, posting an after-tax profit of N231.6 billion, a 31 percent increase from N176.4 billion in the same period last year, driven by strong fee-based income and foreign exchange gains, despite rising impairment charges.

According to its unaudited financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2025, interest income from loans, advances, and investment securities declined slightly to N859.9 billion, compared to N925.8 billion in Q3 2024.

On the other hand, interest expense eased marginally to N586.6 billion from N594.4 billion in the same quarter of 2024, helped by an improved funding mix and lower borrowing costs. As a result, net interest income stood at N273.3 billion, down from N331.5 billion in the prior year, reflecting pressure on interest margins.

The group’s net impairment charge on financial assets rose sharply to N119.9 billion, from N22.2 billion in Q3 2024, more than a fivefold increase. The higher impairment reflects the group’s prudent provisioning amid elevated credit risk across its loan portfolio and foreign currency exposures following recent exchange rate adjustments.

Consequently, net interest income after impairment charges fell to N153.4 billion, compared with N309.2 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024.

The group’s fair value and foreign exchange gains also surged to N209.5 billion in Q3 2025, up from N141.5 billion in the same period last year. This reflects improved trading income and revaluation gains from its foreign currency assets amid a volatile exchange rate regime.

Additionally, other operating income climbed to N49.9 billion from N4.8 billion, driven by dividend income and recoveries, providing further support to the group’s earnings momentum

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, Access Holdings reported N447.5 billion in profit after tax, compared with N457.7 billion in the same period of 2024, representing a slight 2 percent decline. This mild contraction was driven largely by higher impairment provisions, which jumped to N349.9 billion from N144.9 billion last year.

Nonetheless, the group’s core banking operations remained robust. Net interest income climbed by 49 percent year-on-year to N1.26 trillion, supported by higher yields on loans and investment securities. Fee and commission income also expanded significantly by 50 percent, reaching N600.4 billion, underscoring the strength of Access Holdings’ diversified income base.

Despite a high-cost environment, operating expenses declined slightly to N714.2 billion from N734 billion in the corresponding period of 2024, signaling improved cost containment even amid business expansion. Personnel expenses grew moderately by 27 percent to N358.6 billion, consistent with inflationary adjustments and workforce optimization.

On the balance sheet, total assets grew by 26 percent year-to-date to N52.2 trillion as of September 2025, from N41.5 trillion at year-end 2024. Customer deposits jumped 47 percent to N33.1 trillion, reaffirming investor and depositor confidence in the franchise’s stability.

Source: Business Day