Our monitor of the listed media houses revealed one thing, that stock price matters. Nation Media Group closed at KES 228, up by one shilling while Standard Group closed at KES 22.75, up 25 cents.

Relevance of the change in price can be spotted when the change is compared to the stock’s initial price. The tiny increase in Standard Group share price was equivalent to a 1.11% change while that of Nation Media Group equated to a 0.44% change. Such instances explain why a company with a small share price attracts investors as opposed to those with ‘expensive’ shares. (Clear proof that size doesn’t always matter)

Our attention today shall be directed towards 2 powerhouses; KenGen and Kenya Power. They are Kenya’s major electricity producers and distributors, essentially meaning that their revenue stream is tough to rival.

• Kenya Power – The energy generation company supplies large amounts of electricity to the country to homes, small businesses and large businesses. It was formed as a merger between 2 electricity producing bodies (one in Nairobi and one in Mombasa) in 1922. The shares are currently at KES 16.20, slightly lower than their year-high of KES 19.50. Large volumes of the shares are currently being traded because of their dividend announcement of KES 0.30 per share. Books closure will be on 19 December 2012, exactly two weeks from now.
• KenGen – This company generates electricity from wind, hydro and geothermal sources and does this with the help of a workforce of over 1800. Just last week, the company CEO Eddy Njoroge announced that he was bound by law to step down as he had crossed the 60-year age mark. This was done at an AGM where he also announced the search for his replacement, which is to start in January. The public has been rushing to buy shares at KES 9.75, a price close to its year high of KES 11, with over 1 million shares traded on Monday alone. They have also announced a dividend pay but of KES KES 0.60. Books closure will be today, 5 December 2012.