CIC Asset Management Limited grew its half year income by double digits, yet its balance sheet shrank and shareholders will receive no dividend, according to unaudited results released for the period ended June 30, 2026.
The board, chaired by Cornelius Ashira, said it was pleased to report the figures, which show fund management fees climbing faster than the bottom line, a pattern that points to rising costs eating into the gains. Group Managing Director and CEO Patrick Nyaga and Managing Director Humphrey Gathungu also signed off on the release.
Income Climbs, Expenses Climb Faster
Fund management fees, the firm’s core revenue line, rose 25.1 percent to KES 1.04 billion, up from KES 829.07 million a year earlier. Total income followed a similar path, up 15.9 percent to KES 1.11 billion from KES 953.54 million.
Interest income fell to KES 43.68 million from KES 96.17 million, while dividend income dropped sharply from KES 1.18 million to just KES 124,000. Unrealised gains on investments partly offset the decline, rising to KES 22.67 million from KES 26.85 million.
The gains at the top of the income statement did not carry through evenly to the bottom line. Total expenses jumped 23.2 percent to KES 578.64 million, driven largely by employee costs, which rose to KES 225.23 million from KES 169.06 million, and operational and administrative expenses, which climbed to KES 62.26 million from KES 47.81 million.
| Income statement (KES) | H1 2026 | H1 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fund management fees | 1,036.97M | 829.07M | +25.1% |
| Total income | 1,105.02M | 953.54M | +15.9% |
| Total expenses | 578.64M | 469.80M | +23.2% |
| Profit before tax | 526.38M | 483.73M | +8.8% |
| Profit after tax | 364.92M | 338.87M | +7.7% |
| Total comprehensive income | 361.70M | 372.44M | -2.9% |
Profit before tax rose 8.8 percent to KES 526.38 million, and profit after tax grew 7.7 percent to KES 364.92 million. Once other comprehensive losses are factored in, however, total comprehensive income actually fell 2.9 percent to KES 361.70 million, reversing the positive trend further up the statement.
Balance Sheet Contracts From December Levels
Against the firm’s own position at the end of December 2025, the balance sheet moved in the opposite direction to income. Total assets fell 5.5 percent to KES 1.42 billion from KES 1.51 billion, while shareholders’ funds dropped 6.5 percent to KES 1.26 billion from KES 1.35 billion.
| Balance sheet (KES) | June 2026 | Dec 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 1,424.55M | 1,507.44M | -5.5% |
| Total equity | 1,260.28M | 1,348.59M | -6.5% |
| Total current assets | 678.81M | 947.74M | -28.4% |
| Cash and bank | 131.06M | 44.78M | +192.8% |
The fall in current assets, down 28.4 percent to KES 678.81 million, came mainly from lower investment in unit trusts and reduced amounts held with related parties, even as cash and bank balances nearly tripled to KES 131.06 million. On liquidity, the firm reported KES 543.44 million in liquid capital against a minimum requirement of KES 10.83 million, an excess it says leaves it well covered under Capital Markets Authority rules.
No interim dividend was declared for the period, the statement shows.
A Wider Slowdown In Fund Management
CIC Asset Management runs a stable of unit trust products alongside its main balance sheet, including money market, fixed income, balanced, equity, wealth, dollar and global balanced funds, and the half year statement carried separate figures for each.
The size of that fund book matters for context. Khusoko has previously reported that CIC’s Unit Trust Scheme has for years ranked as Kenya’s largest by assets under management, a position built over more than a decade in the collective investment space.
CIC Asset Management sits inside CIC Insurance Group Plc, the Nairobi Securities Exchange listed insurer that also runs general, life and takaful insurance lines. Investors watching the parent group’s own half year numbers will likely read this subsidiary report as an early signal, since fee income under pressure from expenses is a trend that tends to show up across the group rather than in one unit alone.
For a fund manager whose fees make up the bulk of its income, the widening gap between revenue growth and expense growth is the number to watch heading into the second half. If cost growth keeps outpacing fee growth, profit gains could flatten even as assets under management continue to expand.
