Access Holdings’ 9-Month Pre-Tax Profit Rises to N667bn As Impairment Charges Fall
- Access Holdings Plc posted a pre-tax profit of N667.36bn for the nine months ended September 2026, an 8.29% increase from the same period in 2025
- The group's impairment charges dropped sharply by 73.45% to N92.91bn, saving it over N257bn compared with the previous year
- Rising funding costs and personnel expenses continued to weigh on earnings despite the overall improvement in profitability
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Access Holdings Plc recorded a pre-tax profit of N667.36 billion for the nine months ended September 2026, rising 8.29% from N616.25 billion in the same period of 2025, as a sharp decline in impairment charges and stronger fee income offset the pressure of higher funding and operating costs.
The financial services group filed its results with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Monday, November 2, 2026.
Source: Facebook
Quarter-on-quarter, the group's Q3 2026 pre-tax profit climbed 78.43% to N253.23 billion from N141.92 billion in Q2. However, the figure fell 14.35% compared with the N295.68 billion posted in Q3 2025.
Profit after tax recovered sharply, rising 313.41% quarter-on-quarter to N207.45 billion, although it remained 10.44% below the N231.63 billion recorded a year earlier.
Impairment charges drive profitability
The biggest support for the group's nine-month earnings was a 73.45% fall in impairment charges, which dropped to N92.91 billion from N349.99 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. That reduction translated into N257.08 billion in savings, providing considerable support for the group's bottom line.
Interest income grew 6.91% to N3.10 trillion, while interest expenses climbed faster, increasing 10.09% to N1.81 trillion. This limited net interest income growth to 2.74%, taking it to N1.29 trillion.
Interest earned on customer loans rose to N1.54 trillion from N1.38 trillion, but interest paid on deposits surged to N1.25 trillion from N805.62 billion, reflecting the increasing cost of funding.
Fee income cushions revenue pressures
Non-interest income provided additional support, with fee and commission income growing 8.40% to N650.87 billion. After related expenses fell to N115.93 billion from N124.49 billion, net fee income rose 12.40% to N534.94 billion.
Operating expenses continued to increase. Personnel costs rose 20.51% to N432.12 billion, while other operating expenses climbed 6.03% to N757.26 billion, BusinessDay reports.
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Basic earnings per share edged up marginally by 0.25% to N8.02 from N8.00, suggesting that stronger overall profits delivered limited growth at the per-share level.
On the balance sheet, total assets grew 0.78% to N52.60 trillion. Debt securities and interest-bearing borrowings fell 37.44% to N2.05 trillion, while cash and cash equivalents declined 27.54% to N6.53 trillion.
GTBank financial results
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) recorded a pre-tax profit of N879.9bn for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, as fair value losses on financial instruments weighed on earnings despite growth across its core income lines.
The result represents a 2.3% decline from the N900.8bn pre-tax profit recorded in the corresponding nine-month period of 2025.
Interest income, fees and commission income, and trading income increased year-on-year by 5.0%, 1.4%, and 3.1%, respectively. However, a fair value loss of N87.9bn limited the group's overall profitability.
Source: Legit.ng
