Access Holdings Plc has pledged to pay an interim dividend of N1 per share in 2025, more than doubling its previous 45 kobo payout and setting a new benchmark for the Group. This commitment came during the company’s 3rd Annual General Meeting on May 15, 2025, following strong pressure from shareholders demanding better returns after a robust 2024 performance.
Shareholders cited the Group’s growing international footprint and stronger fundamentals as justification for a higher dividend. Responding to their calls, Acting Group CEO Bolaji Agbede assured them of a significant increase. “We will be able to do N1 interim dividend, and we will go the extra mile in delivering,” she said, emphasizing the sustainability of earnings from subsidiaries across Africa and beyond.
If implemented, the N1 interim dividend would represent a 122 percent increase from last year and mark a record payout for Access Holdings. The 45 kobo interim dividend paid in 2024 had been its highest at the time, according to industry data.
Other tier-one banks; Zenith Bank, GTCO, and UBA, also issued record interim dividends of N1 per share in 2024, driven by gains from the naira devaluation. However, Access Holdings’ earnings per share (EPS) of N16.71 in 2024 lagged behind Zenith Bank (N32.87), GTCO (N35.44), and UBA (N21.73). Despite this, the Group is prioritizing investor returns.
At the same AGM, shareholders approved a final dividend of N2.05 per share for the 2024 financial year, following an earlier announcement by the Board in April. The final payment was disbursed electronically on May 15 to qualified shareholders. This brings the total dividend for 2024 to N2.50 per share, with a yield of 11.36 percent and a payout ratio of 19.51 percent based on a share price of N22.
Over the past five years, Access Holdings has paid out a total dividend of N317.2 billion, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 44.9 percent and an average payout ratio of 23 percent. For the 2024 financial year alone, the final dividend payout amounted to N109.3 billion.
Beyond dividends, the Group’s financial performance remains solid. Profit after tax rose to N642.2 billion in 2024, a 3.7 percent increase from 2023. The Group’s unaudited Q1 2025 results revealed a post-tax profit of N182.75 billion, up 14.7 percent year-on-year and already accounting for 28.5 percent of 2024’s full-year profit.
The commitment to a higher interim dividend, along with strong quarterly earnings, signals continued investor-focused policies and suggests a positive earnings trajectory in 2025. However, while shareholders celebrated the dividend boost, efforts to pass a composite resolution for director elections at the AGM failed. Instead, individual voting was carried out for each nominee.
