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Shareholders of Access Holdings Plc have unanimously commended the company’s outstanding financial performance in 2024, citing significant growth across all financial indicators.
The shareholders attributed the success to the company’s strategic policy drive, which prioritizes delivering commensurate returns on investments.
The positive trajectory of the company’s financials was seen as a testament to the effectiveness of its strategic policies, which the shareholders believe will continue to drive growth and profitability.
The shareholders made this remarks on Thursday at the Access Holdings Plc 3rd Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.
The company paid a commutative dividend of N125.29 billion.
An x-ray of the company’s 2024 financial position, shows that gross earnings grew by 88 per cent year-on-year, rising from N2.594 trillion in 2023 to N4.878 trillion whilst profit before tax rose from N729 billion in 2023 to N867 billion in2024, representing a solid year-on-year increase despite external pressures from inflation and currency depreciation.
Dr. Farouk Umar, Bar. Adetola Bola, Mr. Moses Igbrude, Mr. Boniface Okezie and Mrs Oludewa Top who are leaders of various shareholders association aside also given tump-up for the company’s CSR initiative amongst others, call for increase in the dividend payout, just as they frowned at fees being collected by CBN, PENCON and AMCON, which they described as punitive.
Responding to shareholders comments, the Chairman, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede while assuring of a better yield on return on investments in the Holdco, said the company commitment to operational excellence and customer-centeric solutions remains unwaived and central to its strategy.
According to him, “the Access way and our high performance culture, deeply embedded in our banking operations, continue to provide a distinct competitive edge as we expand into non-banking sector. Given our aspirations for global relevance as a leading African financial services powerhouse. it is also clear that we must benchmark our practices against our regional and global peers, actively shaping and influencing policy and regulation where necessary.
“Key business imperatives for the next three years include: consolidation of Geographical expansion, cost optimisation, innovation as a strategic enabler for new ventures and investment management. The strategic initiative outlined in our 2023-2027 Business strategy are designed to ensure that Access Holdings remains at the forefront of the financial services industry in Africa while delivering sustainable value to our shareholders.
On the account, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukuede reiterated that central to the success was the landmark capital raising Programme through which the company raised N351 billion via right issue, noting that, the strategic initiative made Access Bank the first Nigerian Bank to meet the new N500 billion minimum capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria – well ahead of the 2026 deadline, “the right issue significantly boistered our capital base, increasing our shareholders funds to 3.76 trillion “, he added.
In her comment, the Acting Group CEO, Bolaji Agbede, said the management will go the extra mile to deliver on dividend to shareholders.
“So my colleagues and I will continue to work very hard to deliver that, and we are counting on all of you, because not only are you shareholders, you believe you’re also customers, not just of access bank, but of the insurance brokerage business, of the payment business, as well as of our lending business. So we’re counting on you to encourage yourselves, to encourage other members of your family, everyone around you. so the more you also sell the access brand. So that is the best part of the question, for dividend. We will fix.
According to her, the management is confident in the ability of the institution to build on the strong growth trajectory recorded in 2024, with a clear line of sight towards delivering even stronger outcomes in 2025 and beyond.
“Our strategic priorities will continue to focus on scaling our non-banking operating companies and accelerating digital transformation across the ecosystem. For the banking business, scaling operations in Nigeria our anchor country, and deepening our footprint across high-growth African and international markets. These actions are aligned with our commitment to sustainable value creation and are designed to drive revenue diversification, enhance resilience and unlock long-term shareholders returns.
“As part of our innovation-led approach, we are also intensifying efforts around innovation management to include and incubate and launch new businesses across priority sectors. This aligns with our ambition to become a leading financial and investment powerhouse, leveraging agile execution, customer-centric solutions and new business models.
