This archive report was first published on 12 June 2020.
Friday, June 12, 2020, marked a significant milestone for Centum Investment Company as it announced a 12 percent rise in net profit to Sh4.63 billion for the full year ended March 2020.
According to the company's CEO, James Mworia, the growth was driven by investment income, which helped the firm retain a Sh1.20 per share dividend payout for the third year running.
Investment income grew by 57 percent to Sh14.99 billion, boosted by a Sh2.7 billion gain from the disposal of stakes in Almasi Beverages and Nairobi Bottlers.
However, a change in accounting standards meant that the gain was calculated differently, resulting in a lower figure than initially anticipated.
The company's earnings would have jumped 79 percent in the absence of a one-off impairment provision of Sh3.6 billion in the Amu Power project, which has courted controversy and raised uncertainty over its execution.
Despite this, Centum has made significant progress in deleveraging, having fully repaid all medium- and long-term debt, including a Sh7.8 billion dollar-denominated debt repaid in September last year.
The company has also pledged to raise dividend payout in future on account of reduced finance costs, with the deleveraging expected to save Sh1.8 billion in annual finance costs.
Centum closed the year with a strong liquidity position, holding Sh9 billion in marketable securities and cash deposits, and is now well-positioned to take advantage of available opportunities in private equity and public markets.
