Access Bank Plc has reported a N218.790 million or 0.53% plunge in its First Quarter 2020 profit compared to the same period of 2019.
The full account of the lender’s financial performance is contained in its Unaudited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the Period Ended 31 March 2019, posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website Thursday.
Net Interest Income leapt from N56.838 billion at Q1 2019 to N72.212 billion in the corresponding period of 2020, translating to a 27% growth.
Fee and Commission Income expanded by 78.79%, climbing up from N15.628 billion to N27.942 billion in between the periods.
Profit Before Tax inched up to N46.293 billion from N45.101 billion, representing a 2.64% increase.
Profit After Tax, however, dipped by 0.53% from N41.148 billion to N40.929 billion.
Earnings Per Share (EPS) contracted by 12.95% to N1.21 from N1.39.
Access Bank’s underwhelming performance was largely driven by a considerable increase in expenditure during the period.
For instance, Interest Expense grew from N53.939 billion to N59.657 billion; Net Impairment Charge from N3.375 billion N8.852 billion; Fee and Commission Expense from N2.560 billion to N4.944 billion; Personnel Expenses from N12.786 billion to N19.633 billion and Other Operating Expenses from N37.424 billion to N63.551 billion.
Total Equity advanced from N610.193 billion to N635.537 billion, signalling a 4.15% rise.
Access Bank’s outstanding shares are well over 35.542 billion with an EPS of N2.86.
Its dividend yield according to Bloomberg is 10.32% while its Price to Earnings (PE) ratio is 2.22.
Reuters puts its Return on Equity at 1.61.
The bank consummated its merger with Diamond Bank on 1st April 2019 in a deal that made it Africa’s largest bank by customer base.
Access Bank closed trade on the floor of the NSE on Thursday at N6.35 per share.
