WPP Scangroup forecast weaker earnings for its full-year financial results on Thursday as it posted Ksh 31 million profit for its six months ended 30 June 2021 compared to a loss of Ksh 532 million in the prior period.
“Operating profit before provisions for doubtful debts increased by Ksh 276 million mainly due to lower staff costs. Net interest income increased to Ksh 99 million, principally due to the higher bank deposit balances following the sale of the Kantar businesses in 2020,” it said.
The listed company reported net sales of Ksh 1.1 Billion, an increase by 1.7%. Operating profit came in at Ksh 8.5 Million from an operating loss of Ksh 267.5 Million. Interest income rose by 153.9% to Ksh 99.2 Million.
Total assets fell by 32% to Ksh 8.8 Billion on the back of a 28% decline in current assets to Ksh 7.8 Billion and a massive 51% decrease in cash to Ksh 3.6 Billion.
The full-service creative transformation company said it expected a full-year earnings decline attributed to the impact of discontinued operations in the prior year after disposing of some of its subsidiaries. It made a net gain of Ksh 2,242 million in 2020.
“Notwithstanding the above, the Directors expect the results for 2021 from continuing operations of the Group to be better than those for 2020 despite the continued subdued economic environment, partially due to Covid-19.”