Access Bank records N160bn profit in full-year 2021

Access Bank Plc, has announced that its profit after tax (PAT) rose to N160.22 billion from N106.01 billion in 2020, representing a 51.13 per cent increase year-on-year (y/y).

According to the group’s 2021 full-year financial result, its gross earnings stood at N971.88 billion as against N764.71 billion recorded in the corresponding year of 2020 while its net interest income grew by 14.64 per cent from N262.95 billion to N301.46 billion in the current period.

Despite a 32.3 per cent spike in loan losses, net interest income after impairments still appreciated by 9.09 per cent to stand at N218.25 billion while profit before tax (PBT) grew from N125.922 billion to N176.700 billion.

The bank also reported earnings per share of N4.58, a 52.16 per cent growth from the N3.01 reported a year earlier in 2020. The bank’s e-banking income raked in N66.28 billion, representing an 18 per cent spike from N56.09 billion in 2020, suggesting that the bank has improved in its utilization of the e-banking channels in the delivery of financial services to its customers.

In addition, the group also grew its deposits from customers by a whopping 24.47 per cent to N6.95 trillion while its total assets are now N11.73 trillion, more than twice the bank’s total assets in 2018. Net assets rose 38.03 per cent to N1.03 trillion.

Furthermore, the bank’s Board of Directors have proposed a final dividend per share of N0.70 per share, to be paid on each of the 35,545,225,622 issued ordinary shares and payable to shareholders on the register of shareholding at the closure date.

The company had earlier paid an interim dividend of 0.30 kobo in September 2021, hence bringing the total dividend for the financial year to N1.00 kobo. The proposed dividend will be subsequently subjected to withholding tax at the time of payment.