Access Holdings Plc, the Nigerian financial services group led by Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Innocent C. Ike, has reported a profit after tax of ₦474.17 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, representing a 5.9 per cent increase from the ₦447.55 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The unaudited financial results, released on Monday, November 2, show that the Group’s profit before tax increased by 8.3 per cent to ₦667.36 billion, compared with ₦616.25 billion in the previous year.
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The performance reflects improved earnings quality, supported largely by a significant reduction in impairment charges, stronger fee income and continued growth across the Group’s banking operations.
A particularly notable development was the 73.5 per cent decline in impairment charges, which fell from ₦349.99 billion in the corresponding period of 2025 to ₦92.91 billion.
The reduction helped push net interest income after impairment charges up by 32.1 per cent to ₦1.20 trillion, compared with ₦907.95 billion recorded a year earlier.
Commenting on the results, Ike said the performance reflected the Group’s progress in translating its operational scale into sustainable returns for shareholders.
“Our nine-month results reflect continued progress in translating the strength and scale of Access Holdings into sustainable shareholder returns,” he said.
He added that the reduction in impairment charges, alongside improvements in net interest income after impairment and net fee and commission income, demonstrated the resilience of the Group’s core earnings base.
Income growth meets rising operating costs
Beyond its profit performance, Access Holdings recorded growth across several income streams during the reporting period.
Interest income increased by 6.9 per cent to ₦3.10 trillion, while net interest income rose by 2.7 per cent to ₦1.29 trillion.
However, interest expenses also increased by 10.1 per cent to ₦1.81 trillion, reflecting higher funding costs within the banking business.
Fee and commission income grew by 8.4 per cent to ₦650.87 billion, while net fee and commission income increased by 12.4 per cent to ₦534.94 billion.
Core operating income consequently rose by 5.4 per cent to ₦1.83 trillion, providing additional support for the Group’s earnings.
Despite these gains, the financial results revealed some pressure points.
Operating expenses increased by 11.8 per cent to ₦1.30 trillion, while other operating income declined by 40.8 per cent to ₦234.53 billion.
Consequently, total operating income fell by 3.2 per cent to ₦2.06 trillion from ₦2.13 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The figures highlight the challenge of converting revenue growth into stronger profitability while managing the rising cost of operations.
Balance sheet strengthens as international operations contribute
Access Holdings also maintained a sizeable balance sheet, with total assets reaching ₦52.60 trillion as of September 30, 2026, representing a 1.7 per cent increase from ₦51.71 trillion at the end of 2025.
Customer deposits grew by 6.6 per cent to ₦36.85 trillion, while loans and advances to customers increased by 7.4 per cent to ₦14.33 trillion.
Shareholders’ funds remained broadly stable at approximately ₦4.49 trillion.
The Group’s international operations also continued to play a significant role in its earnings performance.
According to the financial report, the banking business accounted for 96 per cent of the Group’s unaudited profit before tax.
Operations outside Nigeria contributed 82.2 per cent of the Banking Group’s profit before tax, with international banking subsidiaries accounting for 43.7 per cent and other African markets contributing 38.5 per cent.
Nigeria’s contribution stood at 17.8 per cent.
The geographical spread reflects the Group’s growing reliance on its African and international network to drive business activities, particularly in trade finance, transaction banking, payments and treasury services.
Against the backdrop of its financial performance, Access Holdings is advancing its Scale-to-Value strategy, which focuses on improving the productivity of its existing business infrastructure rather than pursuing expansion alone.
The framework is built around five priorities: execution capacity, risk governance and regulatory compliance, capital discipline, operating efficiency and earnings quality.
Management believes these areas will help improve financial performance, strengthen accountability and deliver more sustainable returns to shareholders.
Another significant development highlighted in the results concerns the Group’s efforts to comply with Section 19(8)(c) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA), which limits a bank’s investment in subsidiaries to 10 per cent of its shareholders’ funds.
To address the requirement, Access Holdings has initiated capital recalls from six banking subsidiaries.
The Group disclosed that the recall process had been completed in one subsidiary, while shareholder approvals had been obtained in four of the remaining five subsidiaries. Regulatory approvals were still progressing.
Management expects the exercise to bring the Bank’s investment-in-subsidiaries ratio within the statutory threshold and remove the existing regulatory constraint on dividend distributions.
On the progress, the Group stated that the capital recall process was advancing steadily towards compliance with the regulatory requirement.
However, the removal of the restriction would not automatically guarantee dividend payments, as future distributions would remain subject to the Group’s financial position, available distributable reserves and relevant regulatory approvals.
Access Holdings’ nine-month results present a picture of improving profitability, stronger balance-sheet capacity and a more diversified earnings base.
The substantial reduction in impairment charges provided an important boost to earnings, while growth in fee income and international banking operations offered additional support.
Nevertheless, rising operating expenses, higher interest costs and weaker other operating income remain important considerations as the Group pursues its efficiency targets.
As it advances its Scale-to-Value agenda, the Group says its priorities will include strengthening risk management, improving operational efficiency, maintaining regulatory compliance and making more productive use of its capital.
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The extent to which these measures translate into sustained earnings growth and stronger shareholder returns will remain an important measure of the Group’s performance in the coming quarters.
