Access Bank records 43% profit increase

Access Bank records 43% profit increase
Written by Mutale Kapekele
Monday, June 22, 2009 3:58:57 PM

ACCESS Bank has recorded a 43 per cent increase in net profit for the 2008-2009 financial year, chief executive officer Aigbije Aig-Imoukhuede has disclosed.
And Access Bank Zambia managing director David Chewe has disclosed that the bank has partnered with the National Association for Peasant and Small-Scale Farmers of Zambia (NAPSSZ) to manage a fertilizer support program for farmers.

In a statement released on Friday, Aig-Imoukhuede announced a net profit of K882.7 billion ($157.7 million) as of March 31, 2009 compared to K617.3 billion ($110.3 million) for the prior financial year which represented a 43 percent increase.

He also announced an increase of 81 per cent in gross profits and a 60 per cent increase in loans and advances given out.

He attributed the increase in the bank’s profits to accurate forecast of the global financial uncertainty whose effects have been felt in Africa since mid 2008.

“Through this prolonged period of global uncertainty, only those banks which accurately forecast the changing environment and adapt to the realities of the time will continue to prosper. I am especially proud to report these excellent results achieved across all our business lines and in the face of extremely challenging market conditions,” stated Aig-Imoukhuede.

And Chewe said the government-supported fertiliser support programme (FSP) was unpredictable leading to the partnership between his bank and NAPSSZ to come up with a sustainable programme.

“As a bank, we have partnered with NAPSSZ to come up with a sustainable farming inputs program. Omnia are also on board and we hope that this ambitious program will bring long term benefits to the farmers and the nation as a whole.”

And Chewe has said the coming of Eco Bank to Zambia was an indication that the country had so much potential which citizens did not seem to see.

“We are sitting on the gem called Zambia that is why there is so much interest in the country by West African investors like Eco Bank whose origins are in Togo,” he said. “It is just sad that as Zambians we don’t want to see that we have so much wealth and potential and use it accordingly.”