Kenya’s arm of Vivo Energy has posted a decline in revenue despite an increase in sales of premium fuel, V-power.
The firm, which sells Shell-branded products, said its revenue in Kenya went down five per cent to Sh127 billion ($1.26 billion) in the year to December 2018 from Sh134 billion ($1.33) in 2017.
Vivo, which has operations in 23 other African countries, however reported a 13 per cent overall increase in its revenues to Sh755 billion ($7.55 billion) in 2018 compared to Sh669 billion ($6.69 billion) in 2017.
The firm, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last year and is now compelled to make certain information public, made a profit of Sh14.6 billion ($146 million) during 2018 from its operations in Africa.
The company, the largest oil marketer in Kenya, gained on market share last year after setting up a number of petrol stations. As of September, it had a market share of 19.5 per cent ahead of competitors Total at 16.3 per cent and KenolKobil’s 13.8 per cent.
Vivo said there was a 20 per cent growth in sales of V-power - its premium priced fuel – in Kenya.
It also initiated the acquisition process for the assets of Engen assets, which was completed this year. The company plans to rebrand the outlets in Kenya to Shell, while elsewhere in Africa they will continue operating as Engen.
“Our current plans are to maintain the Engen brand in the eight new operating countries, as we believe that the Engen brand is strong and well-established,” said Vivo Energy when it announced its earnings for 2018.
“However, we will rebrand Engen service stations in Kenya to the Shell brand in accordance with the Shell Brand Licence Agreement.”
The deal with Engen is expected to add 15 retail outlets in Kenya.
Vivo will however have to dispose of some of the outlets, which was one of the conditions by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK).
The competition watchdog noted that two of Engen’s petrol stations are currently in close proximity to others that Vivo Energy runs.
These are on Parklands and Enterprise Road.
