As the stock market continue to give some investors concerns, based on the relative decrease in the key market indicators, shareholders of Access Bank Plc are already counting their gains as the board of directors has proposed an interim dividend of 25 kobo for its existing shareholders.
The bank made this known to the investing public on Wednesday August 22, 2017 as contains in its 2017 audited financial statement for the period ended June 30.
According to the financial account, closure date for the corporate action is September 7, while payment date is September 21, 2017.
A brief analysis of the half year result shows that the bank was able to grow its group gross earnings from N174, 011,869 billion in 2016 to N246, 575,403 billion in 2017. Profit before tax stood at N52, 048,768 billion which is above N43, 993,069 billion that was reported same period in 2016.
Profit for the period grew from N33, 637,748 billion in 2016 to N39, 459,944 billion in the same corresponding year under review. The group earnings per share stood at 138 kobo which is above 117 kobo that was recorded in 2016. Meanwhile investors reacted positively to the bank share as it gained 3.96 percent to close at N10.24 kobo at the close of business on Tuesday.
Commenting on the result, Group Managing Director/CEO, Herbert Wigwe said, “Access Bank’s performance in the first half of the year reflects the strength and sustainability of our business as well as the effective execution of our strategy.” According to him, the Group maintained stable asset quality, recording NPL and Cost of Risk Ratios (CRR) of 2.5% and 1.0%, respectively.
Following the release of the half year results, the Bank also declared an interim dividend of 25k to its shareholders.
“We maintained stable asset quality, recording non-performing loans and cost of risk ratios of 2.5% and 1.0%, respectively and wound down on our foreign currency exposures as a deliberate strategy to de-risk the business. As we cautiously grow our loan portfolio in light of macro realities, we will continue to uphold our proactive risk management principles in order to maintain asset quality within acceptable limits. Whilst balancing our appetite for growth and profitability, we remain committed to maintaining solid liquidity and capital ratios,” Wigwe added.
Further analysis of the result indicated a 38% increase y/y to N105.1 billion (H1 2016: N75.9 billion) and 34.8% q/q, driven majorly by the highly inflationary environment and devaluation impact on cost.
“Our retail expansion drive led to investments in our channels, distribution network, service quality and brand enhancement. These, as well as AMCON charges resulted in higher operating expenses in the period. We continue to, however, intensify the implementation of our cost reduction initiatives in order to improve the bottom-line despite high inflationary environment.
In view of the recovering macro, our focus remains growing the retail franchise through digital expansion to enable diversified earnings as well as continuous and proactive risk management as we selectively grow risk assets. We will remain resilient in the execution of our bold strategy for increased growth and profitability whilst maximizing shareholder value in 2017 and beyond,” Wigwe noted