- The board recommended a final dividend payout of 0.33 per share, 73 per cent lower than the Sh1.20 last year.
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Centum Investment holds a 58 per cent stake in Two Rivers Develpment Group
Image: FILE
Low business at Two Rivers and Longhorn Publishers saw investment firm Centum sink into a historic annual loss in the year ended March 2021.
The firm's audited results released Tuesday shows interest in the capital market, real estate, education and manufacturing reported a loss of Sh1.37 billion compared to a profit of Sh4.6 billion the previous year.
During the financial year, Longhorn Publishers had muted sales on long Covid-19 schools closure while Two Rivers Mall reported low traffic due to Covid-19 containment restrictions.
Two Rivers Development Group incurred high finance costs of Sh1.8 billion associated with the development. Centum Investment holds a 58 per cent stake in the real estate segment.
Addressing investors yesterday, Centum CEO James Mworia said the company faced several challenges that affected its bottom line during the year under review.
He added that the group is planning to reorganise the balance sheets of some of its subsidiaries to cut operational costs.
“The boards of Two Rivers Development Limited (TRDL) and Two Rivers Lifestyle Centre (TRLC) have initiated steps to restructure the balance sheets in order to reduce the interest-paying debt and significantly cut operation costs,'' Mworia said.
Centum posted a Sh875 million profit from its real estate business and Sh330 million profit from its financial services business.
However, it reported a loss of Sh529 million from its trading business and Sh1.9 billion loss from its Two Rivers Development.
The group’s total assets grew by seven per cent to Sh109.4 billion from Sh101.9 billion the previous year, supported by increased investments in marketable securities.
Total liabilities increased to Sh61.5 billion from Sh52.6 billion in the same period last year.
The firm is highly optimistic about returns on business going forward especially on eased Cvid-19 restriction measures.
“We have witnessed a strong recovery in performance across our portfolio companies and we hope that this recovery will not be interrupted by any unforeseen external economic shocks,” the firm's financial statement read in part.
The late Cris Kirubu linked investment firm said that its decision to pay down the debt on the company balance sheet and increase the marketable securities portfolio will allow it to take advantage of opportunities as they emerge.
The low performance saw the Group change its dividend policy of “pay the higher of 30 per cent of annuity income or prior year dividends,” to a dividend policy.
The board recommended a final dividend payout of 0.33 per share, 73 per cent lower than the Sh1.20 last year.
The payout will amount to a total Sh218 million.