EABL records 9pc sales growth on uptake of spirits

Beer maker EABL recorded a nine per cent growth in net sales for the full year to June, a statement released by the UK parent company Diageo showed Thursday.East African Breweries Limited’s full-year earnings were primarily boosted by a 60 per cent net sales increase of its Johnnie Walker range of spirits as well as a double-digit growth of the Guinness brand…[...]

Commercial Bank of Africa invests in Sh11bn real estate firm

Commercial Bank of Africa invested Sh2.3 billion in a little-known Sh11 billion property company last year as it sought to diversify its income streams.The bank, the largest privately owned lender in Kenya and associated with the Kenyatta family, bought a 24 per cent stake in Mutuya Holdings Ltd in a share swap transaction…[...]

KenGen pension fund builds Sh1.3 billion Rosslyn homes

KenGen Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme has put up a Sh1.3 billion high-end housing estate in the Rosslyn suburb of Nairobi County as pension funds increasingly diversify into real estate.The State-owned power producer worker’s Rosslyn Springs, a gated community of four-bedroom houses, is targeting homebuyers looking to live in areas not far from the city but sparsely populated…[...]

KCB’s first half profit up 13pc on loans income

Increased interest income from KCB’s loan book raised its after-tax profit for the first half of the year by 13 per cent, keeping the lender in contention to maintaining its position as one of Kenya’s most profitable lenders. The bank announced a Sh9.2 billion net profit in six months to June compared to Sh8.1 billion in a similar period last year, boosted by a 31.3 per cent growth of its loan book to Sh320 billion…[...]

Safaricom CEO says dominant player tag to slow its growth into global brand

Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore has told Parliament that the telecommunications regulator does not need to impose sanctions on it as long as it is not abusing its dominance in the market.Mr Collymore told the Senate Committee on ICT on Thursday that curtailing Safaricom’s dominance would limit its target to grow into a global brand…[...]

Kenya Airways posts record Sh25.7bn loss on high costs

Kenya Airways has reported a record Sh25.7 billion loss after tax attributable to competition from Middle East carriers and high operating costs.The airline also blamed travel advisories that led to a slump in the tourism industry, as well as runway closures for renovation, for eating into the company's 2014/2015 full-year earnings…[...]

Athi River mining takes hit from weak shilling

Athi River Mining has posted a loss following sharp depreciation of the Kenyan and Tanzania currencies, pushing up the cost of dollar denominated borrowings.The cement maker made a loss of Sh355 million in the first half of 2015 compared to Sh847 million in net profit last year but its revenues increased marginally from Sh7.69 billion from Sh7.57 billion…[...]

TPS Serena swings into losses, blames tourism slump

Negative travel advisories and the impact of the Ebola crisis in West Africa last year pushed TPS Serena into loss in the first six months of this year.The hotel chain made a loss of Sh97 million in the first half of 2015 compared with a net profit of Sh41 million in a similar period last year.Turnover declined by a marginal 1.48 percentage point to Sh2.67 billion from Sh2.71 billion in the period under review…[...]