Kenya’s largest landowners, Kenyatta family, to pocket $2.6 million from NCBA

Adding to their already impressive portfolio of dividends earned from investments in publicly listed companies, the Kenyatta family, renowned as Kenya’s largest landowners, is on the verge of securing another substantial windfall.

The wealthy family, which ranks among the richest in the country, is poised to receive an interim dividend payout of $2.62 million from their stake in NCBA Group.

The Kenyatta family, which includes Ngina Kenyatta, Muhoho Kenyatta, and Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s former president, owns a 13.2-percent stake in NCBA Group, a total of 217,497,023 ordinary shares, through the estate of their late father, Jomo Kenyatta.

The family’s windfall comes as NCBA Group, formed in 2019 through the merger of NIC Bank Group and Commercial Bank of Africa Group, announced exceptional financial results for the first half of fiscal year 2023.

The conglomerate reported a remarkable 20.3-percent increase in profits, soaring from Ksh7.77 billion ($53.6 million) in H1 2022 to Ksh9.35 billion ($64.5 million) in the same period this year.

The lender’s aggregate income from interest-bearing assets, which includes government securities, loans, and advances, increased from Ksh14.71 billion ($101.45 million) to Ksh24.93 billion ($171.9 million).

Additionally, non-interest income, derived from fees, commissions on loans and advances, foreign exchange, and dividends, climbed from Ksh13.81 billion ($95.23 million) to Ksh14.18 billion ($97.8 million).

Impressed by its robust performance, the lender’s board of directors approved an interim dividend of Ksh1.75 ($0.012) per share. This dividend is set to be disbursed to shareholders’ bank accounts on September 14.

For the Kenyan Ndegwa family, a significant shareholder in NCBA Group, this translates to a total interim dividend of Ksh380.62 million ($2.62 million).

This payout follows an earlier significant dividend paid to investors earlier this year, solidifying the family’s position as one of Kenya’s foremost beneficiaries of its economic landscape.