Africa-Press – Kenya. Centum Investment Company has reported Sh425 million half-year operating profit, helped by a strong performance by its investee businesses.
The increase in operating profit from Sh95 million reported in the first six months of last year was mainly driven by an increase in investment income.
“This increase in operating profitability is attributable to higher investment income as the company continued rebalancing its portfolio in line with its capital preservation and liquidity enhancement objectives,” noted Centum chief executive officer James Mworia.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed investment company saw an increase in its investment and other income from Sh728 million to Sh1.0 billion, a 38 per cent increase, largely driven by the resumption of dividends from portfolio companies and increase in the cash return from its marketable securities portfolio.
The company however registered a decreased profit after tax of Sh12 million owing to an impairment provision of Sh413 million.
The impairment provision was driven by the company’s prudent valuation policy on its assets and does not reflect cash outflow.
At a consolidated level, the Group’s half-year operating profit before impairment provisions was Sh25 million, which marked a complete turnaround in performance from the half-year operating loss of Sh2 billion in the prior year.
The total comprehensive loss after impairment provisions narrowed significantly from Sh1.7 billion in the prior year to Sh243 million.
“We have seen improved performance in the first half from the various business segments as they recover and the economy rebounds from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We’re optimistic about the second half of the year as we continue to execute on the recovery plans across the various businesses,” Mworia said.
At the company level, the benefits of the strategic decision to pay down debt, in the current strategy period dubbed Centum 4.0, has resulted in the reduction in finance costs by 24 per cent to Sh326 million.
In line with its strategic objective of fully deleveraging the balance sheet at the Centum level, the company did not take up any new long-term debt during the period.
Edited by D Tarus
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