Family of late Kenyan industrialist Chris Kirubi to pocket $608,250 Centum dividend

The family of the late Kenyan industrialist Christopher Kirubi will pocket Ksh66.05 million ($608,250) in dividends from their stake in Centum Investment Company.

The multimillionaire industrialist, who passed away last month at age 80 after battling cancer for four years, held a 30.08-percent stake in the leading investment group, which amounts to 200,158,205 ordinary shares.

Centum  is Kenya’s largest listed investment firm. The bulk of its investments are in real estate and private-equity assets in the consumer goods, financial, agribusiness, and power sectors.

The company operates as an affiliate of the Kenyan state-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation.

At the end of its 2021 financial year, Centum posted its first full-year loss in 42 years on the back of a fall in its investment income and sales revenue caused by COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions.

The company’s earnings were also affected by a lack of income from the disposal of assets, which boosted the prior year’s profit. It was able to book a one-off gain of Ksh12.4 billion ($114.18 million) at the disposal of its beverage assets.

To cushion shareholders from the effects of problematic conditions spiked by the pandemic, the board of directors recommended a final dividend of Ksh0.33 ($0.00304)  per share for shareholders. This is a far cry from the dividend of Ksh1.2 ($0.01105) per share paid a year ago.

The final dividend, which translates to Ksh218 million ($2 million), came on the back of an operating profit of Ksh245 million ($2.25 million) that the company recorded during the year.

The Kirubi family, who control a beneficial interest of 30.8 percent in the leading investment group, is expected to earn a dividend of Ksh66.05 million ($608,250) from their stake.

According to data compiled by Billionaires.Africa, the market value of their stake is valued at (Ksh3.05 billion) $28.1 million.