The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) on Wednesday January 8 announced an impressive 367% increase in its share price.
In a statement, the company highlighted this significant surge at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), with its shares rising from Ksh 1.38 in December 2023 to Ksh 6.44 as of Tuesday, January 7, 2025.
“Our Managing Director and CEO, Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror, promised a transformation in the company’s share price and shareholder value a year ago.
This promise has been fulfilled with a remarkable 367% increase, lifting the share price at the NSE from Ksh 1.38 in December 2023 to Ksh 6.44 as of yesterday,” the statement read.
One of the key strategies involved, developing mechanisms to monitor and evaluate all projects, initiatives, and interventions to ensure accountability.
These frameworks were used to generate data, provide insights, and offer key learnings for future decision-making and prioritization of initiatives.
KPLC also established a communication framework designed for both internal and external audiences, ensuring that all stakeholders are informed about current and upcoming initiatives. The framework also focuses on documenting and sharing the results of these initiatives.
To achieve its communication objectives and effectively connect with key stakeholders, KPLC leveraged its existing structures, including its Sales and Marketing teams and Corporate Communications departments.
The company reported a net profit of Ksh 30 billion for the financial year 2023/24, attributed to several factors, including:
A 21% increase in sales, reaching Ksh 231.12 billion, driven by the addition of new customers, increased economic activity, and a revised cost-reflective tariff structure.
A decrease in finance costs by Ksh 24.84 billion, resulting from the Kenyan Shilling strengthening against major global currencies.
A profit before tax of Ksh 43.67 billion, compared to a loss before tax of Ksh 4.43 billion in the previous period.
In a press release on October 29, 2024, KPLC announced that it returned to profitability, which marked a turnaround from a net loss of Ksh3.19 billion net loss for the year ended June 2023.
The listed firm posted the Ksh30.08 net profit on the back of increased sales and a strong shilling that reduced its costs.
Revenue from electricity sales grew 21 percent to Ksh231.12 billion from Ksh190.98 billion on increased consumption.
According to KPLC, the growth is attributed to improved sales primarily from the 447.251 new customers connected to the grid during the year, as well as increased economic activities, particularly in the manufacturing sector.
“Implementation of a revised cost-reflective base tariff structure in April 2023 also contributed to the improved sales,” the statement added.
During the year, finance costs fell sharply by Ksh24.84 billion to Ksh682 million from Ksh24.1 billion a year earlier, underscoring the massive impact of the shilling’s rally on Kenya Power’s books.
“This performance was primarily driven by a 21 percent increase in revenue notably from the commercial and industrial sector and decreased financial costs due to the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling against major global currencies,” Kenya Power said in a statement.
The shilling rallied to exchange at 128.4 units to the dollar at the end of the last financial year in June, compared with 140.45 units to the greenback a year earlier.
On the other hand, power purchase cost increased from Ksh143.58 billion the previous year to Ksh150.61 billion. This growth was driven by additional units purchased to support rising demand, as well as the high exchange rate earlier in the financial year.
KPLC has highlighted that it has made significant strides in enhancing its financial performance and position, as evidenced by increased sales revenue and improved working capital position.
This increase in transmission and distribution expenditure was occasioned by a 92% rise in wheeling charges for the expanding transmission network and the recruitment of additional technical staff to support business operations.
