Access Holdings Plc has informed the investing public and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) of an extension for the publication of its interim audited financial statements for the half-year ended June 30, 2025.
In a filing on September 22, 2025, the company stated that the release date has been moved from September 29, 2025, to October 22, 2025.
The extension, the company explained, will allow it to obtain approval of the results from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the filing, “In view of the foregoing, the NGX has approved a further extension for the company to file the results on or before October 22, 2025, subject to CBN approval of the results.”
The company also reminded insiders that the previously declared closed period for transactions on its securities remains in effect until 24 hours after the release of the results.
So far, Access Holdings is the only FUGAZ bank yet to publish its interim statement, with GTCO’s release on September 23, 2025, being the most recent among the group.
The announcement mirrors a similar disclosure in mid-August, when the company indicated that the complexity of post-completion audit activities for newly acquired subsidiaries could delay the publication of the half-year results.
Acquisitions
Access Holdings has had a series of acquisitions in 2025 that extended its presence across Africa and beyond. The most recent came in July, when it acquired a 76% stake in AfrAsia Bank in Mauritius after securing approvals from the Bank of Mauritius and the Financial Services Commission.
In June, the bank completed two key transactions: the purchase of Standard Chartered’s Consumer, Private, and Business Banking operations in Tanzania, and the full takeover of the National Bank of Kenya from KCB Group, both concluded after regulatory clearance in Kenya and Nigeria.
In May, Access Bank had already started integrating NBK into its existing Kenyan operations, consolidating its activities in East Africa through established structures.
These moves followed its November 2024 completion of Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in Angola and Sierra Leone, which formed part of a broader agreement that also included operations in The Gambia and Cameroon.
These acquisitions align with the company’s mid-August 2025 statement, which noted a potential delay in publishing interim results due to the complexities involved in post-completion audits.
In its first-quarter financial report for 2025, Access Bank recorded a pre-tax profit of N222.78 billion, representing a 9.89% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
Drivers
The pre-tax profit increase was driven by strong interest income, which rose 58.28% to N980.68 billion.
- Loans and advances to customers and banks made up 63.29% of this, while investment securities contributed 34.14%.
Rising funding costs weighed on net interest income, with interest on deposits up over 80% to N696.89 billion and borrowing costs rising to N63.58 billion. Hence, net interest income fell 20.13% to N220.21 billion.
Non-interest income helped offset the pressure.
- Fee and commission income rose 55.26% to N174.48 billion, led by credit-related fees (N75.52 billion) and electronic banking income (N48.35 billion).
Fair value and foreign exchange gains nearly doubled to N214.39 billion, boosting the bank’s overall performance.
Despite a 5.81% drop in total assets to N39.09 trillion, Access Holdings remained one of the largest banks by asset size.
The decline was mainly due to lower balances in loans, investment securities, and cash with the Central Bank.
However, the bank grew its deposit base even amid tight liquidity.
- Customer deposits increased by N507.56 billion in the quarter, reaching N23.03 trillion, helping stabilize the balance sheet and support liquidity.
