NAIROBI: Kenya’s Centum Investment Company said its pretax profit soared 120 percent year-on-year to 8.82 billion shillings ($90 million) in its financial year ending in March, citing a sharp rise in its investment income.
The company, which invests in listed and private firms and across a range of sectors, most recently expanding into real estate, reported pretax profit of 4.01 billion shillings in the year ending March 2014.
“This performance was largely driven by a 130 percent increase in investment income as well as an improvement in the performance of the associate companies,” Centum said.
The firm reported a rise in investment income and other income to 11.83 billion shillings in the year to March 2015, from 4.88 billion in the previous year.
In the current financial year, it said it would focus on opportunities in real estate, healthcare and education. It also expects to complete construction of its flagship Two Rivers Mall complex in Nairobi, and commence operations.
It said its earnings per share had more than doubled to 10.44 shillings. The company said it was continuing a strategy that meant it would not pay a dividend. ($1 = 97.5500 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Edmund Blair)
