Centum Investment Company has announced a dividend of Sh521 million with nearly half of it being a special distribution coming on the back of several investment exits in the financial year ended March 2026.
The dividend is made up of an ordinary payout of Sh0.42 per share amounting to Sh281 million and a special distribution of Sh0.36 per share totalling Sh240 million.
Centum has proposed the dividend on the back of the group net profit falling by 8.4 per cent to Sh743.91 million from Sh812.81 million posted in the previous financial year. At a company level, net profit rose 87 per cent to Sh1.02 billion from Sh547.13 million. The firm explained that consolidated earnings include businesses at different stages of their investment lifecycle and may not always match with cash distributions received by the holding company, leading to the difference in bottom-lines at company and group level.
The proposed distribution, subject to approval at the upcoming annual general meeting, is 2.5 times higher than the payout made in the previous year when it paid an ordinary dividend of Sh0.32 per share amounting to Sh210 million.
“The increase in ordinary dividend reflects the continued growth in recurring annuity income generated across the investment portfolio, supported by increased investment in the company's marketable securities portfolio,” said James Mworia, managing director at Centum. “The special dividend reflects the successful realisation into cash of value created across the portfolio over a number of years. Centum frequently recognises increases in value through fair value movements before those gains are ultimately realised through strategic transactions or investment exits.”
Centum has in recent years sold or reduced holdings in several businesses while redirecting capital into sectors it considers capable of delivering stronger long-term returns.
Mid-March this year, Centum announced completion of sale of the stake that had remained in Sidian Bank, effectively ending its 25-year relationship with the fast-growing lender. In June, Centum also sold a 60 per cent stake in Nabo Capital.
Mr Mworia said a significant portion of cash generated during the review period arose through repayment of shareholder loans by portfolio companies. “The board believes it is appropriate to return a portion of these realised proceeds to shareholders while retaining sufficient revenue reserves and financial flexibility to continue funding future investment opportunities,” he said.
Mr Mworia said Centum expects future shareholder distributions to comprise a growing ordinary dividend supported by recurring annuity income together with periodic special dividends as significant investment realisations occur.
Investment operations remained the largest contributor to the group profitability, with pre-tax earnings from this unit hitting Sh1.52 billion in the review period from Sh1.17 billion in the previous financial year.
Centum said the investment operations benefitted from continued growth in dividend and interest income as well as “materially lower” finance costs following debt reduction across the portfolio.
Centum Real Estate reported a pre-tax profit of Sh199.98 million compared with Sh1.51 billion profit in the previous year.
The trading business returned a pre-tax loss of Sh399.69 million from Sh489.83 million as the loss from Two Rivers Development reduced to Sh239.64 million from Sh242.7 million loss in the previous period.
Two Rivers Special Economic Zone posted a pre-tax loss of Sh964.09 million from a pre-tax profit of Sh88.37 million. The loss before tax from Development Operations came in at Sh796.64 million.
