KenGen CEO
and managing
director Peter
Njenga
/HANDOUT
Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) defied a halt on Thursday to close the week as the biggest gainer.
The close of the week market report shows that the power generator’s share price rose by close to nine per cent to close the week at Sh9.98.
It was second after Safaricom Plc amongst top movers for the week, with a volume of 6.13 million shares valued at Sh65.8 billion.
The telco, which celebrated 25 years, moved 40.6 million shares valued at Sh1.13 trillion, accounting for 40 per cent of the total market capitalisation.
NSE, while announcing the temporary freeze on trading of KenGen shares, denied it had authorised the release of the unaudited financial results.
The company’s share is one of the most valued at the Nairobi bourse, giving investors impressive dividends. It reported a 79 per cent growth in net profit for the six months ending December 31, 2024, to Sh5.3 billion.
This performance was attributed to aggressive cost-cutting measures and enhanced operational efficiencies. The firm is a leading electricity generator in the Eastern Africa region, with an installed generation capacity market share of more than 60 per cent.
It has an installed generation capacity of 1,785MW, made up of Hydro (826MW), Geothermal (754MW) and Wind (25.5MW). The balance is from Thermal sources.
Generally, the stock market recorded an improvement in activities, with the
NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices gained by 1.37 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 1.61 per cent, respectively, during the week ending October 23.
Market capitalisation and equity turnover increased by 1.36 per cent and 56.7 per cent, while total shares traded decreased by 4.8 per cent, respectively.
Government’s short-term papers were oversubscribed during the week, despite declining yields. Data by the Central Bank of Kenya received bids totalling Sh25.4 billion against an advertised amount of Sh24 billion, representing a performance of 105.9 per cent.
Bond turnover in the domestic secondary market increased by 27.2 per cent to Sh38.4 billion compared to Sh30.2 billion the previous week.
