Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro set to pocket Sh16.7 million in KPLC dividends

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro in a dance with students from Mugoiri Secondary School when he launched Kiharu Masomo Bora programme targeting 14,000 students in day secondary schools on Feb 16, 2023. [File, Standard]

The strengthening of the shilling against the US dollar last year is among the key factors that helped lift Kenya Power’s profit by 30 times.

The utility firm yesterday reported Sh9.97 billion in profit after tax for the half to December 2024, up from Sh319 million it made over a similar half of the 2023-24 financial year. 

The profit growth was on account of an 86 per cent drop in its finance costs, which stood at Sh1.97 billion over the half from Sh15.02 billion the half to December 2023. 

Following the higher profits, the firm has reported an interim dividend of 20 cents per share. The interim dividend, the first in nine years, will be paid in April to shareholders registered in the books of the company at the close of business on February 28. 

This will see about 33,135 Kenya Power shareholders share a total of Sh390 million. The National Treasury is the largest shareholder with a 50.1 per cent stake.

Others include Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who has 20 million shares in the firm, which means he will pocket about Sh4 million around April 11.  

The dividend the lawmaker expects in April will be in addition to the Sh14 million that he also received as the final dividend for the full year to June 2024 that Kenya Power was expected to have paid by yesterday.

An interim dividend is the one that a company pays before its fiscal year ends, whereas a final dividend is given following the end of its fiscal year. 

The firm ended a six-year dividend drought last year when it announced it would pay shareholders 70 cents per share for the financial year to June 2024. This was after it posted a net profit of Sh30 billion for the year. 

Mr Nyoro is the second-largest individual shareholder, with his shares translating into a stake of 1.03 per cent as of June last year, according to Kenya Power.  

The largest individual shareholders are Naran Khimji Hirani and Virji Khimji Hirani, who jointly have 23.85 million shares in the company or about 1.22 per cent stake.

Their interim dividend will amount to about Sh4.76 million while for the year to June 2024, they will have been paid about Sh16.7 million.

Shareholders have also seen the value of the Kenya Power stock rise following a recent rally, which has seen the share price go up to Sh7.56 this week from Sh1.66 in June last year, a 355 per cent increase.  

When it published its unaudited results Thursday, Kenya Power also said the growth in profitability was also due to lower cost of sales, which dropped to Sh71.4 billion over half from Sh83 billion. 

“This reduction is attributed to the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling against major foreign currencies, which account for 90 per cent of the loan portfolio as well as a reduction in loan balances due to continued repayment. During the period, the company commenced repayment of the GoK On-lent loans that had remained on a repayment moratorium since March 2020,” said Kenya Power. 

During the review period, Kenyans increased their electricity consumption by five per cent to 5,506 gigawatt hours (GWh).

The higher consumption did not translate to higher revenues, which dropped to Sh107.43 billion from Sh113.55 billion.

The firm attributed the decline in revenues to a corresponding drop to lower passthrough costs as the Kenya Shilling remained stable during the period, and lower average yield as per the tariff reduction path embedded in the approved tariff.