Poor sales push real estate firms off the cliff

Poor sales push real estate firms off the cliff

The mortgage decline in Kenya comes even as the government accelerates its affordable housing programme. No sooner had the grave of Chris Kirubi dried up than Centum Investment, a company the late tycoon founded, recorded its first loss in four decades.

This news must have left the flamboyant billionaire shaking in his grave. But even Kirubi would not be amused was he alive, that one of the most decorated feathers in his investment cap- Two Rivers Mall- contributed to the Sh1.4 billion loss in the year ending March.

It is not only Centum that had a rough patch owing to difficulties in the property market. Almost all the listed companies dealing in real estate have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. READ MORE

Britam’s decision to lock most of its investments in property came to haunt it after the financial services company posted a record Sh9.1 billion loss before tax in the year ended December 2020. This compared to a profit before tax of Sh4.6 billion in 2019.

The drop was largely attributed to provisions of about Sh5.3 billion for investment losses related to its wealth management fund, with analysts noting that its subsidiary, Britam Asset Managers, might have sunk much of the investors’ cash into long-term assets such as property.

Mortgage lender Housing Finance (HF) Group’s net loss widened to Sh1.7 billion in the year ending 2020.

This was an increase of 1,450 per cent compared to a loss after tax of Sh110 million that the mortgage lender posted in 2019, owing to a tough operating environment for the listed lender that saw its revenues decline even as its expenses ballooned.

Things were not any better for the mortgage lender in the first quarter of this year after its loss widened more than 300-fold from Sh633,000 to Sh191.8 million.

The only I-Reit (Real Estate Investment Trust) listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), ICEA’s ILAM Fahari I-REIT also recorded a dismal performance during the period under review.

ILAM Fahari I-Reit reported a 51 per cent drop in profit for the six months to June 30, owing to the loss of revenue from the anchor tenant, Tuskys Supermarkets, at Greenspan Mall.

Earnings for the period closed at Sh42.2 million, down from Sh86 million in the same period in 2019, as companies in the property market continued to struggle.For Centum, unlike in the previous period when it disposed of assets worth Sh2.2 billion, the investment firm never disposed […]

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