Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe is poised to receive $1 million in interim dividends from his substantial stake in Access Holdings, as the pan-African financial services conglomerate announced a remarkable financial performance in the first half of 2023.
Access Holdings, a key player in Nigeria’s financial services sector with operations spanning 12 African nations, has been making strategic strides in expanding its footprint across Africa and Europe.
Notably, the conglomerate recently unveiled plans to acquire the Sub-Saharan African subsidiaries of the UK-based multinational bank Standard Chartered Bank.
Wigwe, who presently serves as the group managing director and CEO of Access Holdings, holds an impressive 7.14-percent ownership stake in the financial giant. This equates to a substantial 2,536,687,116 ordinary shares as of June 30, 2023.
The interim dividend, totaling N761 million ($1 million), is set to be disbursed into Wigwe’s bank account on Oct. 19, further bolstering the dividend income he has accrued from the Lagos-based financial services provider over recent years.
Access Holdings’ financial results for the first half of 2023 showcase a remarkable 52.6-percent surge in profit compared to the same period in the previous year. The conglomerate’s profits leaped from N88.74 billion ($120 million) in H1 2022 to N135.44 billion ($183.3 million) in H1 2023.
This impressive financial performance was driven by a substantial increase in interest income, which soared to N596.14 billion ($806.7 million), and non-interest income, reaching N224.24 billion ($303.4 million) during the reporting period.
In light of this outstanding financial performance, the board of directors proposed an interim dividend of N0.3 ($0.00041) per share to be distributed to its shareholders.
This marks a notable increase from the N0.2 ($0.00027) per share interim dividend paid in the preceding year, reflecting Access Holdings’ commitment to rewarding its investors amidst its ongoing growth and expansion efforts.
This underscores the financial strength and continued success of Access Holdings as it pursues its ambitious growth agenda in the African and European markets.
