Sasini Plc registers Sh192m profit, declares dividends
FARMING: Sasini Plc, a listed coffee and tea producer, has announced Sh192 million in pre-tax profit and plans to pay dividends to shareholders after recent receivership concerns.
Over the last three years, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed company’s units have been making losses, with 2019/2020 being the worst when it made a loss of Sh337 million.
The company which specialises in agricultural produce blamed the losses to Covid-19 and high costs of operation.
According to Silas Njibwakale, managing director of Kipkebe Ltd, a subsidiary of Sasini Plc, mechanisation played a bigger role in the turnaround of the company’s business while drastic downward review of operational costs also added to the improvement.
“Sasini was not mechanised some years back and as a result, the cost of production was very high.
When we moved to an initial plan of acquiring 10 two-men hand-held harvesting machines, we realised the need for full mechanisation,” he said.
Presently, Njibwakale added, the group has even done away with the two-men hand-held machines and started using self-propelled harvesters which are so far highly efficient and very cost effective.
The MD said improved relations with outgrowers has also seen the company realise good business due to high production of tea.
“So far we are the best paying company in our catchment areas and as a result we have had so many outgrowers turn to us for business.
We have had an improved production scale from our out-growers and it is something we are working to improve even more,” he said.
Agricultural produce
Apart from tea, Sasini also deals with other agricultural produce like macadamia, avocado and coffee.
Martin Ochieng, the Sasini Group’s Managing Director projects even more better returns for the company as it moves to reassure its investors of a sustained upward projector.
The remaining part of the year, he said, looks bright with the onset of the avocado season and macadamia nuts shipments that are expected to contribute to the projected good results.
“The tea prices are also expected to either stabilise or improve slightly despite the variations currently being witnessed in the market,” Ochieng said.
The good weather conditions prevailing will support both the tea production volumes and the coffee early crop to achieve expected production volumes s,” Ochieng said recently.
