One of Kenya’s oldest companies, Unga Group Limited, has declared Ksh293.5 million ($2.66 million) in profits for its 2021 fiscal year, which ended on June 30.
The figure represented a 343.6-percent growth compared to last year, when it recorded a profit of Ksh66.2 million ($597,340) on the back of disruptions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unga Group is a Kenya-based holding company directed by Isabella Ochola-Wilson, the chair of the board. It maintains active operations in Kenya and Uganda.
Founded in 1908, Unga Group has grown into a key player in the agro-allied industry, with investments in flour milling and human nutrition product and animal feed manufacturing.
Despite the COVID-19-induced difficulties that the group experienced in its operating climate during the year, its revenues remained flat at the Ksh17.81-billion ($161.21 million) mark.
The cost-optimization strategies that the management deployed during the year paid a massive dividend as the group’s operating profit surged by 105 percent from Ksh299.78 million ($2.71 million) in 2020 to Ksh616.2 million ($5.58 million).
The strong growth in operating profit boosted by cost efficiencies led profit after tax to increase by 250 percent from Ksh66.16 million ($597,340) in the previous financial year to Ksh293.50 million ($2.66 million).
Despite the profit growth, Unga Group’s total assets at the year’s end fell by KSh2.05 billion ($18.55 million) to Ksh10.05 billion ($90.96 million).
As of press time, Sept. 30, shares in the group were worth Ksh30 ($0.272) per share, while its market capitalization was valued at Ksh2.27 billion ($20.55 million).