Britam profit alert pushes the tally for the year to a record high of 14

Britam Holdings has announced its 2015 profit will fall below last year’s, becoming company number 14 to issue a profit warning. Britam attributed this to a depressed economy that had slowed down the performance of firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). UAP Insurance, which is not quoted but exchanges on the over-the-counter market, also gave a profit alert last Thursday increasing the total number of firms that have publicly forecast lower profit to 15 [...]

Auditors to provide detailed analysis in published reports

Auditors will be giving a detailed report of their analysis in published reports, moving away from the current template statement, as the profession seeks to win back confidence. A record number of financial improprieties were reported by large corporations in the year. Auditors have been accused of abetting cooking of accounts resulting in huge financial losses to shareholders and customers. Some of the companies accused of financial improprieties during the year are Imperial Bank, Dubai Bank, listed retailer Uchumi, Mumias Sugar Company and Haco Tiger Brands [...]

NSE records fewer equity trades as foreigners dominate

Investors executed significantly fewer equity trades in the stock market this year, with the number of deals declining by nearly 150,000 from last year. Foreign outflows and inflows have been balanced, however, with analysts saying that interest from Africa-focused funds, targeting possible future rise in share prices, has balanced exits from developed market investors retreating to safer markets, especially the US [...]

Helios entry raises competition bar for Safaricom

The entry of Helios Investment Partners into Kenya’s telecommunications sector is expected to step up competition for Airtel and market-leader Safaricom, which dominates both the voice and data markets. The deep-pocketed private equity fund is expected to inject into Telkom Kenya the required capital and bring in a strong management team that can turn the loss-making telco to profitability [...]

Telkom Kenya reduces call and SMS charges within East Africa bloc

Telkom Kenya has cut its calling charges for pre-paid customers roaming within East Africa by introducing bundled voice and SMS fees, following in the footsteps of its rivals Safaricom and Airtel. The new Orange charges apply in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Orange post-paid subscribers will still make calls at Sh9 per minute and Sh4.50 to send an SMS [...]

TransCentury mulls over options of retiring Sh8 billion Eurobond debt

Pressure is piling on investment firm TransCentury to finalise a plan of how it will repay an $80 million (Sh8.1 billion) convertible Eurobond it floated in 2011. The company has appointed a team of advisors to help it chart the way forward. Whichever source of funding the firm goes for, it will have a major impact on its shareholders and balance sheet. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm recently doubled the number of its authorised shares to 1.2 billion units from the previous 600 million units in preparation for a rights issue expected to raise cash to clear the debt [...]

Cybercriminals keep companies on high alert

Incidence of cybercrime kept Kenyan companies on high alert this year, as the improving Internet speeds and automation of operations gave fraudsters and hackers more access to corporate data. Money lost to cybercrime increased to an estimated Sh15 billion with the government and financial services sector being the hardest hit, according to a Cyber Security report [...]