Pension Firm Records N42.4bn Revenue, Pays N2 Dividend Post-merger

Access ARM Pensions has posted a rise in revenue in its first full financial year following the merger between Access Pensions and ARM Pensions, as it grew its gross revenue by 50.4 per cent to N42.4 billion in the 2025 financial year from N28.2 billion recorded in 2024:

The pension fund administrator’s profit after tax rose by 48 per cent to N16.1 billion from N10.9 billion in the previous year. Assets under management also increased significantly, surpassing N4 trillion in 2025 from about N3 trillion in 2024, reinforcing the company’s position as one of Nigeria’s largest pension fund administrators.

At the company’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos, shareholders had approved a dividend payout of N2 per share.

Speaking at the meeting, Acting Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer, Abimbola Sulaiman, described 2025 as a defining year for the business, being the first full year in which the combined operations of both firms were reflected in the financial statements.

“If you recall, 2025 was our first full year post-merger. In 2024, ARM Pensions was part of the business for only about five months, so 2025 marked the first full year of consolidation,” she said.

According to her, the company successfully extracted substantial operational synergies from the merger, particularly through cost optimisation, while simultaneously strengthening customer acquisition and expanding pension assets.

“We were able to extract significant synergies, particularly on the cost side. The business is strong, the brand is strong, and we recorded strong gains in customer acquisition and assets under management,” she stated.

Sulaiman noted that the company’s growth trajectory was outperforming broader industry expansion, largely driven by merger-related value creation and increased scale.

“Our AUM grew from about N3 trillion in 2024 to N4 trillion in 2025, which represents significant growth. So, we are seeing strong double-digit growth, not only in line with the industry but ahead of it, largely because of the value capture achieved from the merger,” she added.

She said the company expects stronger performance over the medium term as integration benefits continue to mature across operations and revenue channels.

“As you know, mergers and acquisitions typically take between one and three years before full integration benefits are realised, both from a cost optimisation and revenue synergy standpoint. We are therefore optimistic about the growth trajectory ahead,” she said.

Sulaiman also pointed to growing opportunities within the pension industry, particularly as regulators continue to push reforms aimed at widening pension penetration and deepening coverage across the country.

“The pension industry itself is growing and becoming more consolidated, and our position within the industry remains solid. We intend to leverage that position to strengthen our competitiveness further,” she said.

She added that despite new regulatory capital requirements for pension operators, the company remained confident of meeting the threshold internally without diluting shareholders.

“The fact that we are able to pay dividends this year while still working towards meeting the new minimum capital requirement ahead of the regulator’s deadline demonstrates our confidence in the strength and performance of the business.

“We will meet the capital requirement before the deadline, and we will not require any external capital injection to do so,” she stated.

A shareholder, Obinna Anyanwu, described the company’s commitment to shareholder returns as encouraging. “We are really excited about the outcome of today’s meeting. What we have seen consistently is the company’s commitment to shareholders, and that is a very positive sign,” he said.

“We are also beginning to reap the benefits of the merger with ARM Pensions. This is the first full financial year after the merger and based on the kind of performance presented at this AGM, we are optimistic that the company will continue to build on and consolidate these gains going forward.”

He added that the leadership quality within the organisation also gives investors’ confidence about the company’s future growth prospects.

“Another factor that gives us confidence about the future is the quality of leadership within the organisation. We are very confident in the management team and believe the company will continue to perform even better in the years ahead,” Anyanwu said.