Access Bank Plc, a pan-African financial services business led by Nigerian multimillionaire banking mogul Herbert Wigwe, posted a 51-percent increase in profit at the end of its 2021 fiscal year, as it benefited from a double-digit percentage increase in gross earnings.
The Wigwe-led financial services provider operates as a multinational banking conglomerate with operations in 10 African countries, including South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Gambia and Mozambique. It also has operations in the United Kingdom, China, India, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.
According to its annual report, the leading financial services firm recorded a 51-percent rise in profit from N106 billion ($255.1 million) in 2020 to N160.2 billion ($385.6 million) at the end of 2021, driven by a 27-percent increase in gross earnings due to strong performance across its operational sectors.
Apart from the 22-percent rise in interest revenue and another 14.6-percent increase in non-interest income that enhanced earnings during the period, the 51-percent profit growth was also aided by sound financial and cost management.
As a result of its solid performance, the bank’s assets increased to N11.7 trillion ($28.2 billion), up from N8.68 trillion ($20.9 billion) the previous year, solidifying its position as Nigeria’s largest lender in terms of assets.
Meanwhile, retained earnings went from N252.4 billion ($607.45 million) to N397.27 billion ($956.1 million), while shareholder funds increased from N751.04 million ($1.8 billion) to N1.05 trillion ($2.5 billion).
Despite a robust 51-percent increase in earnings, the board proposed a dividend of N0.7 ($0.00168) per share to shareholders, a 25-percent increase over the payout of N0.55 ($0.00132) per share given to shareholders from its profits in 2020.
As a result of the final dividend recommendation failing to meet investor expectations, shares of the major lender fell 5.3 percent, from N10.4 ($0.0251) to N9.85 ($0.0237) per share at the time of writing.
