LAGOS, APRIL 26, 2018 – Access Bank Shareholders yesterday authorized the board of directors of the bank to raise up to $1.5 billion or N459 billion in new debt issue. Shareholders passed a resolution increasing the size of the bank’s existing $1 billion debt issuance programme to $1.5 billion by the addition of $500 million.
The debt issuance programme will enable Access Bank to raise capital through the issuance of non-convertible loans, notes, bonds and any other instruments whether by wa of public offering, private placement, book building process reverse call inquiry or any other method or combination of methods.
At the annual general meeting in Lagos, shareholders authorised the board of the commercial bank to decide the details of any issue and take all necessary actions necessary in the process of the capital raising.
Chairman, Access Bank Plc, Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga, said the increase in the size of the prospective issuance to $1.5 billion demonstrated the commitment of the directors of the bank to strengthening its funding, capital base and profitability through a robust capital structure.
According to her, the proactive issuance programme is underscored by the growing scale of regulatory headwinds and economic realities which have put demands on liquidity and capital.
She said the board deems it necessary to further bolster the bank’s capital and funding base through the issuance of debt securities through any instrument considered appropriate for the bank to meet its growth objectives.
She noted the successful implementation of the bank’s five year strategic growth plan of 2013 to 2017 and the launch of a new five-year plan aimed at making the bank to become Africa’s gateway to the world by 2022.
“As we move on to the next phase of our growth story, the board is positive that we will achieve our growth aspirations through a sustained and sharp focus on our strategic priorities. Operating efficiency will remain at the heart of our decisions and we will continue to focus on effective execution of our strategy and on delivering value to shareholders,” Belo-Olusoga said.
Shareholders who spoke at the meeting commended the bank’s consistent dividend payment policy. Shareholders also applauded the bank for surpassing N4 trillion balance sheet size. Shareholders also approved the payment of N18.8 billion as cash dividend for the 2017 business year. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of 40 kobo, in addition to interim dividend of 25 kobo, bringing the total dividend per share for 2017 to 65 kobo.
Representatives of shareholders’ groups that spoke at the meeting included Mr. Adebayo Adeleke of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mrs Bisi Bakare, President of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria and Alhaji Muktar Muktar, President, Trusted Shareholders’ Association of Nigeria (TSAN).
Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe said the bank recorded well-rounded performance in 2017 with improvements in all key performance indices such as earnings per share, cost of risk and capital adequacy ratio, which are the major ratios financial institutions are measured by.
“Looking at the top-line of major banks, we are doing well. The new phase of our five-year corporate strategic plan will extensively cover what we could not achieve in the previous phase. We shall continue to invest in staff trainings in order to ensure our staff remain one of the best amongst their colleagues in the industry. As a customer friendly institution we have set-up an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) centre and ombudsman complaints Call Centre to tackle issues from customers,” Wigwe said.
Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of Access Bank for the year ended December 31, 2017 showed that gross earnings grew by 20 per cent to N459.08 billion in 2017 as against N381.32 billion recorded in 2016. Group’s operating income rose to N302.6 billion in 2017 as against N272.6 billion in 2016.
However, the bank’s bottom-line contracted as pre-tax profit dropped by 11 per cent from N90.34 billion in 2016 to N80.07 billion in 2017. After taxes, net profit declined from N71.44 billion to N61.99 billion. With these, earnings per share dropped simultaneously from N2.50 in 2016 to N2.18 in 2017.
Wigwe said the bank’s operating performance in 2017 was impacted by the residual effects of macro-economic conditions of 2016, noting that the bank’s fundamentals remain strong and the group remains poised for sustainable growth in the coming periods.
