Kenyan multimillionaire businessman Baloobhai Patel has increased his ownership stake in Nairobi-based manufacturing and investment company Carbacid Investments to 49.9 percent.
Patel, who is the largest substantial shareholder in the investment holding, acquired an additional 9.52-percent stake in the company between June 30, 2020, and June 30, 2021, according to recent figures published in its annual report.
The share acquisition pushed his stake in Carbacid Investments from 40.38 percent, or 102,913,592 ordinary shares in 2020, to 49.9 percent, or 127,172,592 ordinary shares, as of the last reporting date in 2021.
Carbacid Investments Limited is an investment holding with interests in carbon dioxide gas production processing and marketing through its main operating subsidiary, Carbacid (CO2) Limited.
Aside from its core operations through its subsidiary, the holding company has investments in properties, bonds and other financial assets. It also holds shares in other listed companies.
As of press time, shares in the holding were worth Ksh12.3 ($0.1104). At the present price valuation, Patel’s 49.9-percent stake is now worth Ksh1.56 billion ($14.05 million), while the holding’s market capitalization amounts to Ksh3.13 billion ($28.15 billion).
Figures contained in Carbacid’s annual report for the financial period ending on June 2021 revealed that the holding posted a 28-percent increase in profit from Ksh324.65 million ($2.92 million) in 2020,to Ksh415.1 million ($3.73 million).
The positive growth in profit was underpinned by a 32.8-percent increase in revenue from Ksh682.9 million ($6.13 million) to Ksh906.6 million ($8.14 million). However, a faster 36.4-percent increase in production-related costs, coupled with a 41.4-percent expansion in administrative costs, pressured a growth in earnings during the period.
As a result of the strong growth in earnings, Carbacid’s retained earnings from operations increased from Ksh2.88 billion ($25.9 million) to Ksh3.18 billion ($28.6 million), while the value of all its assets strengthened from Ksh3.63 billion ($32.6 million) to Ksh3.92 billion ($35.2 million).
