By Samuel Bankole
The shareholders of Access Holdings Plc on Wednesday approved the board’s N46.209 billion final dividend payout for the year ended December 31, 2022, amounting to N1.30 final dividend payout per share.
They gave their approval at the Pan-African financial institution’s first annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos. This was in addition to the payment of the interim dividend of 20 kobo per ordinary share at mid-year.
Speaking at the meeting, the president of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Bisi Bakare, commended the management for growing gross earnings above the N1 trillion mark and maintaining dividend payout, stressing the group’s expansion in total assets.
She acknowledged the decline in the cost-to-income ratio to 57.9 percent in 2022 from 58.8 percent in 2021 amid macroeconomic challenges, urging the management to maintain effective management over the rising inflation rate.
Speaking, the group chairman of Access Holdings, Bababode Osunkoya, said 2022 was a year of unprecedented challenges for Access Holdings and for society more broadly.
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According to him, as a company, we continued to demonstrate our resilience, our ability, and our commitment to support customers, clients, and wider stakeholders in ever-changing economic conditions.
“In January 2023, we began the implementation of another five-year strategy, which we shared with the investment community and stakeholders. A key aspect of our intent over the next five years is to become a top-five financial services provider in Africa by 2027.
“We will build a large, diversified company by consolidating our wholesale franchise and embedding ourselves firmly in the retail market. This strategy will be digitally-led, customer-focused, and supported by various collaborations with reputable fintech companies to deliver a deeply entrenched retail footprint and payment business.”
The Group Chief Executive of Access Holdings, Herbert Wigwe, said: “As the institution has transitioned to a holding company to capture the opportunities the African market provides, the company’s ambitions will be supported by seven key enablers (customer experience, digital and technology, data and analytics, risk, ESG, people and culture, and brand and communication).
“These enablers will ensure Access executes seamlessly to become one of the top five financial services institutions on the African continent by the end of the strategic cycle in terms of revenues, asset base, and on a balanced scorecard basis.
“The proven success of our business model gives us a strong foundation upon which we can build the best open financial services platform and set new ambitions, which we unveiled at our Investor Day in January 2023.”
(omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
