Access Bank plc yesterday released its audited results for the full year ended December 31, 2015, and proposed a final dividend of 30 kobo per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 55 kobo.
Profit Before Tax (PBT) for the period rose to N75 billion, representing a 44 percent y/y growth when compared with N52 billion in 2014. Profit After Tax (PAT) was up 53 percent in FY 2015 to N65.9 billion from N43.1 billion in FY 2014.
The results at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show the bank’s gross earnings totalled N337.4 billion in Full Year (FY) 2015, 38 percent increase year-on-year (y/y) (FY 2014: N245.4bn), with interest income and non-interest income contributing 62 percent and 38 percent, respectively.
Interest income grew by 17 percent y/y to N207.8 billion in FY 2015 from N176.9 billion in FY 2014, as a result of improved income from lending activities and increased yield on investment securities.
Access Bank reported Return On Average Equity (ROAE) of 20.4 percent in FY 2015, from 16.5 percent in FY 2014, indicative of the Bank’s commitment to maximising shareholder returns.
Non-Interest Income stood at N129.4 billion, up 89 percent in FY 2015 from N68.4 billion in FY 2014, largely attributable to strong gains on forex (FX) trading income, which reflects management’s ability to diversify the bank’s revenue sources.
Operating Income increased to N234.8 billion in FY 2015 – 39percent growth y/y on the back of increased earnings compared with N168.4bn in the corresponding period of 2014.
Access Bank plc, a full service commercial bank with headquarters in Nigeria also operates across Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, Asia and the Middle East.
Commenting on the results, Herbert Wigwe, Group Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank plc said “This year’s results reinforce our resolve to generate sustainable returns despite challenging market conditions. We achieved strong financial progress in 2015 as the Group recorded a 44 percent growth in profit before tax to N75 billion from N52 billion in 2014, with significant contribution from our securities trading business.”
“Guided by a robust risk management framework, our diversified business model yielded positive results as we grew the business cautiously and recorded sound prudential ratios. During the year, we successfully raised capital by way of Rights Issue which has significantly strengthened our capital base and now provides us with sufficient headroom to harness opportunities in key growth sectors of the economy.
“In addition, the recent upgrade of our national scale credit rating to ‘A’ by Fitch Ratings – even in an extremely difficult environment – will enable growth in the market share of our customers’ businesses and solidify our position as a top player in the industry. We also made remarkable headway in redesigning our systems and processes to enhance service delivery across all customer touchpoints, with emphasis on tailored customer interactions. Leveraging innovation, we introduced products and solutions which have enhanced our brand equity and recorded significant customer adoption and migration to our digital platforms.
“In the coming year, we will remain resilient in the execution of our bold strategy for increased growth and profitability. Though market conditions will remain challenging, we will focus on innovation, proactive risk management and data analytics as catalysts for diversifying income streams and enhancing retail expansion, so as to maximize shareholder value in 2016 and beyond,” Wigwe added.
Loans and Advances were up 25percent to N1.41trn in December 2015, from N1.12trn in December 2014 owing largely to risk-conscious growth in target sectors of the economy.
Customer Deposits totaled N1.68trn in the period, 16percent increase from N1.45trn in December 2014 driven by enhanced customer engagement and an accelerated deposit mobilisation drive. Total Assets closed at N2.59trn for the year – up 23% y/y from N2.10trn in December 2014, thus reflecting overall business growth.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) improved by 110bps to 19.5percent when compared to 18.4% in December 2014, benefitting from the capital injection following the Rights Issue during the year.
Credit quality improved in the year as the percentage of non-performing loans to total gross loans stood at 1.7%, which represents a 50bps improvement over 2.2% recorded as at December 2014.
Coverage Ratio (with regulatory risk reserves) stood at 279.8% as at December 2015 from 159.1% in December 2014. Cost of Risk stood at 1.0% from 1.2% in FY 2014; Impairment Charges increased to N14.2bn from N11.7bn in FY 2014, driven by specific and collective impairment recognized during the year due to macroeconomic headwinds.
Net Interest Margin (NIM) declined to 5.9% in FY 2015 from 6.8% in FY 2014, as Cost of Funds (CoF) increased by 60bps y/y to 5.2% from 4.6% in FY 2014 owing to a higher interest rate environment in the first half of the year. Cost-to-Income Ratio (CIR) remained relatively flat y/y at 62.0% in FY 2015 (FY 2014: 62.2%).