Africa-Press – Kenya. The share price at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) rose by close to six per cent at the close of the week after the brewer reported a sharp improvement in interim earnings for the six months to December 2025.
On Friday, the firm said its net earnings for the period rose by 38 per cent to Sh11.2 billion from Sh8.1billion a year earlier, supported by an eight per cent increase in volumes, flat operating expenses and a sharp reduction in finance costs following sustained debt reduction.
The board declared an interim dividend of Sh4.00 per share, up from 1.50 a year earlier, with a book closure date of February 20, 2026, and payment expected before April 30.
In December, Diageo, the world’s largest spirits group, agreed to sell its 65 per cent stake in EABL to Japan’s Asahi Holdings for $2.3 billion (Sh296.7 billion), divesting its last direct African beer holding.
The deal values EABL, a Nairobi blue chip stock and one of East Africa’s top five companies by market capitalisation, at around $4.8 billion (Sh619.2 billion).
The brewer’s share price closed the week at Sh258.50 to command the gainers’ list at the Nairobi bourse, followed closely by Uchumi Supermarket, which reported the first operating profit in more than a decade in the year ended June 2025.
The good results have triggered a sharp rally in the company’s share price and renewed scrutiny of its restructuring progress.
Others in the top five gaining list include Kenya Power, Safaricom and Kenya Re.
Generally, trading at the NSE recorded improvement in all spheres, with the NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices increasing by 0.29 per cent, 0.16 per cent and 0.73 per cent respectively during the week ending January 29.
Market capitalisation, equity turnover and total shares traded also increased 0.28 per cent, 67.55 per cent and 67.01 per cent respectively, with investors’ paper wealth rising by close to Sh10 billion to Sh3.07 trillion.
The Treasury bill auction of January 29 received bids totalling Sh47.2 billion against an advertised amount of Sh24 billion, representing a performance of 196.7 per cent.
Interest rate on the 182-day and 364-day Treasury bills increased, while interest rate on the 91-day Treasury bill declined as the government opts for long-term maturities.
Speaking during the launch of the report in Nairobi, National Treasury public debt management director general Raphael Owino said the exchequer also plans to gradually reduce Treasury bills while lengthening debt maturities through medium- to long-term securities.
This, he said, will reduce debt servicing pressure that has forced the country to procure more expensive loans to avoid defaults.
Bond turnover in the domestic secondary market decreased by 14.64 per cent during the week to Sh67.6 billion, compared to Sh79.2 billion the previous week.
In the international market, yields on Kenya’s Eurobonds decreased by 9.59 basis points on average after Moody’s upgraded the country’s sovereign rating to B3 from Caa1.
