Access Holdings Plc has announced the vestment of 15,509,331 units of shares valued at N267.536 million to eight top executives of the company.
This was contained in a notification of vesting of Access Holdings Plc’s shares to the Nigerian Exchange Limited obtained by Nairametrics.
Vesting is the process by which an employee acquires a “vested interest” or stock option in their company.
The stock option, equity, or employer-specific contribution is typically offered by the company when the employee has been at the organization for a given number of years.
According to the statement signed by Sunday Ekwochi, Company Secretary, the group said:
- “Under the terms of their employment, with Access Bank Plc, we write to provide Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the investing public with details of the company’s shares that were vested in the executives”.
The group noted that the shares were vested on the beneficiaries on November 20, 2023, on the floor of the Exchange.
Beneficiaries
According to the statement, the beneficiaries include Victor Etuokwu, Deputy Managing Director, Retail North, Access Bank Plc, and Chizoma Okoli, Deputy Managing Director.
Retail South, Access Bank Plc, Gregory Jobome, Executive Director, Access Bank Plc, and Hadiza Ambrosa, Executive Director, Access Bank Plc were vested with 2,469,136 units of shares each worth N42.593 million respectively.
Others include Oluseyi Kumapayi, Executive Director, Access Bank Plc/ Non-Executive Director, Access Holdings Plc vested with 2,082,930 worth N35.931 million, Bolaji Agbede, Executive Director, Access Holdings Plc vested with 1,975,309 unit of shares valued at N34.074 million, Iyabo Soji Oksanya, Executive Director, Access Bank Plc allocated 1,532.447 units of shares worth N26.435 million and Sunday Ekwochi, Company Secretary, Access Holdings Plc vested with 42,101 unit of shares valued at N776,242.
The statement noted that the vesting of the shares is not a purchase or a sale transaction in the context of the Exchange’s rules.
Third quarter financial performance
Access Holdings Plc’s Q3 profit before tax was up 156.19% to N126.816 billion from N49.500 billion posted in 2022, driven by strong growth in interest income and foreign exchange gains.
According to the group’s financial statements for Q3 2023, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) was N115.004 billion, a 138.27% increase from the N48.265 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2022.
This is on the back of increasing inflation which the economy continues to struggle with. Headline inflation increased to 26.72%, representing a 0.92 %-point rise from the previous month’s 25.80%.
The data is from the recently released Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for September 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The surge in inflation is primarily attributed to the removal of petrol subsidies and the devaluation of the official exchange rate, both significantly impacting consumer prices.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for the most significant share at 13.84%, followed by housing water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 4.47%, and clothing and footwear at 2.04%.
This financial performance in Q3 2022 took the group’s pre-tax profit in the first nine months of 2023 to N250.444 billion, a whopping increase of 82.93% from the N136.914 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2022.
As of the end of Q3 2023, the group’s Fair value and foreign exchange gain stood at N122.555 billion, a 119.35% increase from the previous quarter.
