The Closing Bell: Kenya Power’s 88% Profit Rise Makes It NSE Top Gainer
At 3.10 pm today when the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) closed The Kenya Power & Lighting Company Limited (KPLC) had risen 13.33%. The power distributor released its end of year results today posting an 88% increase in earnings per share (net profit). Such an improvement in financial performance is always appreciated by investors, who in turn value the company higher.
The top winners
The other firms whose stock price had appreciated the most were: Car And General Kenya Limited (C&G), Standard Group Limited (SGL), Express Kenya Limited (XPRS), and Longhorn Kenya Limited (LKL). Longhorn was among the top gainers in the morning, moreover, it has been steadily increasing in value since Tuesday.
"The company's financial performance has been consistent and thus investors have positive expectations of its future performance. Longhorn will be issuing its bonus shares this November. Bonus issues translate to more shares available for trading thus increasing liquidity. The counter experienced a price drop last week, and therefore investors most likely viewed it as being at a good current entry point. In summary Longhorn provided a value attraction for investors." Said Silha Rasugu a research analyst at Genghis Capital Limited.
Longhorn's share price performance since January is given below:
The other winners today:
The top losers
Unga Group Limited (UNGA), Uchumi Supermarkets Limited (UCHM), CIC Insurance Limited (CIC), Sasini Tea And Coffee Limited (SASN) and Eveready East Africa Limited (EVRD) shed the most value today. They ended the day at KES 43.00, 9.50, 10.00, 14.00 and 3.70 respectively.
Market snapshot
As at the close of the market (3.10 pm) today
Most shares traded
Safaricom Limited (SCOM), KPLC, Kenya Commercial Bank Limited (KCB), Equity Bank Limited (EQTY) and Kenol Kobil Limited (KENO). 10 million Safaricom shares changed hands today representing 41% of all shares traded.
