Access Holdings Plc’s Q1 2025 Result: PAT Settles at N182.75bn as Gross Earnings Rises to N1.38trn
Access Holdings Plc reported high earnings in Q1 2025 with gross earnings of ₦1.38 trillion, reflecting the group’s capacity to generate significant income despite economic headwinds. PBT stood at N222.78bn, marking a +9.88% growth in Q1 2025 from N119.23bn in Q1 2024. The PAT in Q1 2025 rose by +14.73% from N159.29bn recorded in Q1 2024, suggesting that the bank’s operational efficiencies and tax strategies were effectively implemented. The bank’s Q1 2025 profit signals it’s ability to navigate macroeconomic volatility, including rising inflation and currency pressures. The money lenders interest income rose by +58.62% to N964.57bn in Q1 2025 from N608.10bn in Q1 2025. Interest income growth was driven largely by higher yields on loans and investment securities amid tighter monetary conditions. However, there was equally a sharp increase in interest expense which grew by +71.32% to N760.47bn in Q1 2025 from N443.88bn in Q1 2024. Consequently, net interest income fell by 20.13% to ₦220.21 billion. The squeeze reflected the rising cost of domestic funds.
The lender’s net fee and commission income rose by +68.34% In Q1 2025 to N146.22bn from N86.86bn in Q1 2024, with significant contributions from credit-related fees and electronic banking. Furthermore, the group’s fair value and foreign exchange gains leaped by +79.81% to N214.39bn in Q1 2025 from N119.23bn in Q1 2024, underscoring the bank’s effective treasury and trading activities. These gains in non-interest income helped cushion the decline in interest margins. The modest growth of +17.56% in deposit size to N29,077.14bn in Q1 2025 led to +12.42% rise in total loan advances from N10,900.10bn in Q1 2025n to N12,253.91bn in Q1 2025. The retained earnings rose by +57.79% to N1,396.32bn in Q1 2025 from N884.94bn in Q1 2024 (see table 1 below).
Table 1:
RATIO
Access Holding Plc’s ratios showed mild deterioration as return on equity and return on assets fell. The return on equity fell to +4.96% from +6.25% in Q1 2024 while the return on asset dropped to +0.47% in Q1 2025 from +0.49% in Q1 2024. On the bright side, the bank’s cost-to-income ratio (CIR) tumbled to +60.05% in Q1 2025 from +70.76% in Q1 2024 (see table 2 below).
Table 2:
VALUATION
The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) fell to 4.56x in Q1 2025 from 5.63x in 2024. Similarly, price-to-book value (P/B) slipped to 0.32x in Q1 2025 from 0.52x in Q1 2024 (see Table 3 below).
Table 3:
Share Price MOVEMENT
Stock Investment analysis
Access Holding Plc’s share price witnessed mild volatility in Q1 2025. The average, the highest and lowest share price over the period were N24.40k, N28.15k and N20.45k, respectively. The group’s share price remained relatively flat in the second week in January through to the third week, ranging between N24.75K and N24.10k. By mid-February, the share price began a gradual descent amid periodic rebounds before eventually settling at N21.90k by May 02, 2025 (see chart 1 below).
Chart 1:
Closing THOUGHTS
The bank’s performance in Q1 2025 was mixed, with notable interest income growth matched by a sizable rise in interest expenses. Profitability indices (ROE and ROA) , however, went south despite a strong effort at curtailing the group’s CIR.
The financial powerhouse will need to cut interest costs down further and attract a large size of cheaper cost deposits. It may also need to review the cost of its public sector accounts and rein in ‘cost creep’. There may be early indications that the continental lender’s inorganic growth strategy is placing heavier-than- expected cost burdens ( this argument is debatable and unverified).
In the broad scheme of things, and with continental trade uncertainty caused by the recently introduced segmented American global trade tariffs, the Access Holding franchise has shown resilience and held up nicely.
