Kenya’s real estate has seen more action than a movie set. According to the HASS consult quarter three report, property prices jumped due to tumbling mortgage rates, among other reasons. Overall sales prices rose by 5.1% with apartment sales figures increasing by 3.6% and that of stand-alone houses by 3.4%. There has been a return to normal levels of buying to the real estate sector and developers are earning their keep.
At the top of this money chain however, are the quarrying and construction companies. They provide the raw materials that facilitate unit construction and overall project development. Without them projects such as Konza city, Two Rivers project and even highway constructions would not come to be. Given their large sums of money involved, their accounting books are bound to put a smile on a few faces. Let’s monitor a few of the listed construction companies for the day.
- Athi River Mining – The proof is in their unaudited results for their third quarter. Their profit-before-tax increased to KES 1.2 billion, up 304%. The proportion of profits-after-tax attributable to shareholders is KES 826.5 million, up 328%. It may not necessarily translate to triple the amount of dividends. Payout will certainly increase, possibly double the normal amount. The share price has also been gaining value by the month. It started at KES 140 and currently rests at KES 210.
- Bamburi Cement – The stock has seen a low of KES 125 and a high of KES 185 for the year. They, much like Athi River Mining, stand to gain from the increased infrastructure development activity. This however, has not been reflected in their books. While the share price has risen, the company’s net profits have dipped. As stated in their half years results, net profit dropped to KES 2.5, a decrease of 13.5% for the period to June. That the chairman, Mr Kemoli Richard had his name feature in the CMC group boardroom wrangles, does not help with the situation. He left the group last week and was replaced by John Simba, a lawyer with SImba & Simba Advocates.