Shareholders Back Access Holdings’ Long-term Value Creation Plan

Shareholders have expressed confidence in Access Holdings Plc’s long-term value-creation strategy as Nigeria’s largest financial services group continues to implement a deliberate plan to consolidate its pan-African and global investments to deliver greater sustainable returns to investors.

Speaking on the outcome of the group’s annual general meeting, shareholders said they were confident that Access Holdings is well-positioned for sustainable growth and high value creation in the years ahead.

They said the group’s performance over the past 15 months highlighted the fundamental strength of Access Holdings, providing strong reassurance about the current strategic shift from investments to value creation and shareholder returns.

With nearly one million shareholders, Access Holdings has one of the largest shareholder bases across Africa. More than three-quarters of the shareholders are retail minority shareholders, making them significant stakeholders in the group. Domestic minority retail shareholders typically account for nearly half of transactions at the Nigerian stock market.

Shareholders said they believed Access Holdings could translate its strong fundamentals into exciting returns while simultaneously building on the group’s vision of being Africa’s gateway to the global financial system.

Founding Coordinator and Leader, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, said shareholders have no fear about the future of Access Holdings, having seen its historic transformation from a mid-tier bank to becoming Nigeria’s biggest bank in many parameters.

He explained that the understanding shown by shareholders over the non-declaration of dividend for the 2025 business year was based on both past performance and future expectation.

President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, said Access Holdings has endeared itself to shareholders with its performance overtime.

According to him, shareholders were looking at the bigger picture and were confident that the group would deliver impressive long-term values as outlined under its strategic plan.

“We’ve no cause to worry about Access Holdings. True, dividend is important to us shareholders, but then, when you take everything together, you see that it’s like keeping your money in a compounding interest account, you’re going to get the bumper return at the end,” Umar said.

National Chairman, New Dimension Shareholders Association, Mr. Patrick Ajudua, said Access Holdings has experienced commendable growth, citing the group’s performance in 2025 when gross earnings rose to N5.53 trillion and total assets crossed N51.53 trillion.

“As shareholders, we express our satisfaction with the company’s overall performance, particularly in light of the decision not to distribute dividends this year. This decision was clarified as a necessary step to ensure compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulations,” Ajudua said.

He said shareholders at the general meeting had highlighted areas where they need the board and management to focus, including further addressing impairment charges on financial assets and cost optimisation.

Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, said the overall assessment of Access Holdings’ performance was strong.

According to him, while the absence of dividend payments is notable, it shouldn’t be the sole determinant of a company’s performance.

He underlined that part of shareholders’ trust in the board was entrusting the directors with the discretion to declare or withhold a dividend.

He said: “With earnings per share so impressive at N13.48, the company is certainly capable of rewarding its shareholders by as much as N5 per share. We know that it’s CBN’s rules that posed challenges for dividend disbursement. As a holding company, the performance of the bank, its main subsidiary, significantly affects the overall situation. If the bank doesn’t distribute dividends, it naturally limits the holding company’s ability to do so as well”.

He urged regulators to consider the impact of their policies on investors, highlighting the importance of dividends as a reflection of a company’s success.

“When a company performs well, fulfilling the dividend expectation becomes crucial for maintaining investors’ satisfaction, especially for those who have supported the bank during challenging times,” Okezie said.

Regarding future projections, he expressed confidence in the management’s projections for returns, noting the clarity of the company’s vision and growth strategy.

He pointed out that setting clear goals is essential for growth, while commending the board and management of the group for their painstaking efforts to carry shareholders along in the company’s growth plan.

He advised the board to maintain its focus and drive on business success, urging the directors to consider proposing an interim dividend by the end of this financial year or by September, to help address the impact of the previous non-payment on shareholders as well as reassure and align shareholders’ interests with the company’s overall performance.

National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr Moses Igbrude, expressed confidence in Access Holdings’ earnings outlook, noting that the company stands out as a robust, well-structured financial institution poised to deliver substantial value to its shareholders.

He said shareholders were confident that the management team possesses the necessary skills and expertise to effectively leverage the group’s assets and resources, ensuring the group meets its projections and fulfils its commitments to investors.

Access Holdings saw 16.2 per cent growth in pre-tax profit to N1.01 trillion in 2025, driven by impressive growth in core banking interest income, which rose to N1.36 trillion and a 41 per cent growth in net fees and commission incomes, which jumped to N585 billion. Operating income rose by 23.9 per cent to N3.17 trillion. Gross earnings had risen from N4.88 trillion in 2024 to N5.53 trillion in 2025.

The group’s total assets expanded to N51.56 trillion while shareholders’ funds rose to N4.33 trillion by December 2025. Cost-to-income ratio improved from 56.7 per cent to 51.7 per cent. Return on Average Equity (ROAE) remained high at 18.4 per cent.

With earnings per share at N13.48, shareholders, however, approved the board’s decision to focus on the structural realignment of the group’s foreign investments in compliance with domestic regulatory requirements, which necessitated the non-declaration of a dividend for the 2025 financial year.

In the first quarter of 2026, pre-tax profit stood at N272.1 billion, as against N222.78 billion recorded in the comparable period of 2025, putting the group on a strong footing to surpass its N1 trillion profit mark. Total assets rose to N54.44 trillion while total equity improved to N4.4 trillion by March 2026.

Speaking at the AGM in Lagos, Chairman, Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, reaffirmed the group’s strategic transition towards long-term value creation, balance sheet resilience, and disciplined growth, even as it navigates a dynamic and evolving operating environment.

He said the group’s vision was anchored on the belief that the defining test of a financial institution is not merely its capacity for growth, but its ability to grow profitably, sustainably, and with discipline over time.

“Periods of economic uncertainty often reveal more about an institution than periods of uninterrupted growth. Our focus remains on building a business that is not only growing, but improving in the quality, resilience, and sustainability of its earnings,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.

He reiterated the strategic imperative underpinning the group’s next phase of growth.

He said: “Our strategy, From Scale to Value, reflects the natural evolution of our journey. Scale created opportunity; value creation is how we fully realise it”.

He noted that while the group continues to generate strong returns, ensuring that earnings per share consistently exceed the cost of capital remains central to unlocking sustainable shareholder value.

He also acknowledged the significant unrealised value embedded within the group’s international subsidiaries and reiterated management’s focus on improving market recognition of that intrinsic value over time.

“Our approach is clear: capital retained today must translate into greater value tomorrow and sustainable returns for our shareholders. Our responsibility is to justify the confidence of our shareholders by building an institution that endures, one defined by clarity of purpose, discipline of execution, and sustainable value creation over time,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.