NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 1 -Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC’s board of directors has recommended a dividend payout of Sh11.65 billion for its shareholders for the year ended June 30th, 2019.
The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Rebecca Miano, whose term has just been renewed for another 3 year period, said the board is recommending a final dividend of Sh0.25 for the year for every ordinary share of Sh2.50, amounting to Sh1.65 billion for the year.
In 2018, the company paid its shareholder Sh2.64 billion in dividends which translated to Sh0.40 for every ordinary share.
Miano observed that during the period ending June 2019, business remained resilient despite challenging economic conditions in the country and globally.
The KenGen MD said the projections indicate that the medium-term macro-economic environment will be tough, compounded by the economic shocks brought about by the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic.
“KenGen recognizes that the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic may have an impact on its business. The short-term impact of COVID-19 on the company’s performance is likely to be reflected in the 2019/2020 earnings,” she added.
She was however quick to point out that in the long term, the current conditions present opportunities to diversify as the economy recovers from the crisis.
“The company remains financially robust with the directors reiterating their commitment and confidence in the company’s ability to continue navigating the COVID-19 with associated macro and socio-economic challenges,” she stated.
Notably, during the year ended June 2019, the company’s energy sales grew from 7,989 GWh in 2018 to 8,277 GWh despite dilution of the market share following new entrants. KenGen’s total revenue grew from Ksh 45.30 billion in 2018 to Sh45.97billion in 2019, leading to a 1.5 percent growth.
KenGen’s other income increased from Sh275 million to Sh619 million, mainly as a result of consultancy services, insurance compensation and tax refund.
In the year ended June 2019, no power plant was commissioned and as a result, KenGen could not benefit from tax credits that would normally be realized from commissioning of new power plants. The company’s 165.4MW Olkaria V Geothermal Plant which was under construction during the year was completed and connected to the national grid in November 2019.Miano also revealed that the company is progressing with additional 439MW projects from sustainable geothermal resources, adding that the organization will continue to implement the Revamped Horizon III Good to Great (G2G) Strategy.“The implementation of Olkaria 1 Unit 6 progressed with the plant scheduled to […]