Access Holdings reports N2.5trillion in gross earnings for H1 2025
Access Holdings reports N2.50trillion in gross earnings for H1 2025, representing a 13.8% year-on-year (y/y) growth from N2.20 trillion in H1 2024. The topline expansion was supported by solid growth in interest income, though this was partly offset by elevated funding costs and rising impairments.
Interest income rose 38.9% y/y to N2.04 trillion, reflecting improved yields across loan and investment portfolios and the impact of the Group’s continued regional expansion. The Group’s loan book stood at N11.15 trillion, broadly stable year-to-date (vs. N11.49 trillion as of December 2024), while investment securities increased to N12.34 trillion (from N11.55 trillion in FY 2024). Despite strong earning asset performance, funding pressures persisted, with interest expense rising 10.5% y/y to N1.06 trillion, reflecting likely repricing of deposits and wholesale borrowings to match the prevailing interest rate environment during the period. Consequently, net interest income expanded to an estimated N984.63 billion (vs. N513.39 billion in H1 2024), with net interest margin adding 181bps to 6.4% y/y.
On the non-interest income front, performance was moderate, supported mainly by resilient fees and commissions, which grew 16.1% y/y to N237.66 billion, driven by digital transactions, payments, and trade-related fees. However, other operating income came under pressure due to lower FX revaluation gains and muted trading income amid Naira stability, as the net FX position swung to a N66.4 billion loss from an N80.8 billion gain in H1 2024. Operating expenses increased by 12.5% y/y, driven by higher personnel costs (N229.21 billion vs. N158.8 billion in H1 2024), inflationary pressures, and higher regulatory levies.
Additionally, loan impairment charges climbed sharply, with total impairment losses on financial and non-financial assets reaching N230.07 billion (vs. N122.74 billion in H1 2024), reflecting increased provisioning possibly linked to the exit of forbearance positions in compliance with CBN directives. Consequently, the NPL ratio rose slightly to 3.2% (from 3.1% in FY 2024). As a result, pre-tax profit fell 8.1% y/y to N320.57 billion (H1 2024: N348.92 billion), while net profit dropped more steeply by 23.3% y/y to N215.9 billion, translating to an EPS of N3.72 (vs. N5.07 in H1 2024). Return on average equity declined accordingly to 11.4% y/y from 22.4% y/y in H1 2024.
Balance Sheet and Capital Position
Total assets grew 2.3% year-to-date to N42.45 trillion (FY 2024: N41.50 trillion), buoyed by increased derivative assets (+39.6% year-to-date to N2.10 trillion) and higher customer deposits (+1.7% year-to-date to N22.90 trillion). The Group continued to expand its regional footprint, finalising the acquisition of 74.85% of SCB Gambia and the consumer, private, and business banking arm of SCB Tanzania, while divesting 25% plus one share of Access Bank South Africa.
Outlook and Recommendation
For the rest of the year, we expect funded income growth to moderate mildly in H2 2025 due to a gradual easing of fixed income yields and limited room for asset repricing. Nonetheless, non-interest income should remain resilient, buoyed by digital banking and regional diversification benefits. Operating expenses are expected to stay elevated, in line with underlying inflationary tendencies with an already high operating cost (+12.5% y/y—N808.78 billion) compared to peers, as well as higher regulatory levies. Loan loss provisioning may likely see further increases as the firm exits positions under regulatory forbearance with the CBN.
We project FY 2025 net profit around N615.13 billion–N679.88 billion, largely supported by expectations of modest revenue momentum. Following adjustments to our valuation assumptions, we revise our fair value estimate upward to N35.16 (previously N34.67), implying an upside potential of 44.6% from the current price of N25.00 (as of 24 October 2025). We maintain a BUY rating on the stock.
