KenGen, Kenya’s biggest electricity producer, says its half-year profit before tax soared 9.5% to Kshs. 6.87 billion for the period ended 31 Dec 2020. However, its profit after tax for the period declined 38.2% to KSh5.05 from KSh8.17 billion it reported on 31 2019. KenGen’s energy sales increased by 5% following growth in national electricity consumption which saw peak demand reach 1,976MW in December 2020 compared to 1,882MW during a similar period in 2019. Revenue from geothermal operations continued to show a growth trajectory, recording an increase of 14% supported by additional generation capacity from Olkaria V and revenue diversification…
Author: Khusoko
Khusoko
Khusoko provides market insights into Africa's business investment as well as global trends that impact East African businesses.
Listed utility company Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc (KPLC) said on Thursday it recorded a record first-half profit, thanks to reduced transmission and distribution costs. The firm posted KSh138 million net profit for the half-year ended December 2020 compared to KSh692 million posted in the same period the previous year. “Transmission and distribution costs decreased to Ksh 18,675 million from Ksh 22,977 million the previous period due to ongoing cost management initiatives,” the company said in its unaudited results. However, its finance costs increased to Ksh 8,057 million from Ksh 3,835 million the previous period due to the depreciation…
Humanity must agree on the benefits of technology – and then use it to uplift each other and achieve our development goals says Huawei vice-president Catherine Chen. Technology holds significant benefits for humanity and digital technology can be an indispensable tool for helping the United Nations achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is according to Chen Lifang, Huawei Senior Vice President and Board Member, who delivered a keynote speech titled “Believe in the Power of Technology” at the recent Connected for Shared Prosperity Forum in Shanghai. Chen said the technology could be an engine for human progress and called…
Kenya’s Strathmore University introduced a Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics (MSc. DSA). This is a unique graduate program to equip participants with a deep mastery of the business and IT underpinnings of Data Science and Analytics and provide the Kenyan market with highly skilled data scientists. The two (2) year academic program is a collaboration between Strathmore Institute of Mathematical Sciences (SIMS) and @iLabAfrica Research and Innovation Centre. According to the institution, 95% of the world’s data has been created in just the past 2 years. Therefore, data is the next natural resource and Big Data is…
Huawei has joined hands with the ICT Authority of Kenya to train 377 trainees under the Presidential Digital Talent Programme (PDTP). Under the programme, 246 trainees’ will take the Networking course while 131 students will take the Cloud and Artificial Intelligence Courses. The five-week virtual training begun Tuesday and will provide digital training courses on Networking, Cloud and Artificial Intelligence. “Huawei will continue to support local ICT talent development initiatives. Investing in Kenya’s digital skills training is not only part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, but is also our duty as an organization to work together with government and other…
Shares of WPP Scangroup depreciated 8.93% at Ksh 5.10 per share on Monday. This represents an 8.93% drop from its Friday closing price of Ksh 5.60 following the suspension of its CEO Bharat Thakrar and the Chief Finance Officer, Mr Satyabrata Das. Stanbic Holdings lost by-4.76%, Kenya Power & Lighting Company by -4.7%. STANLIB Fahari Income REIT was the biggest gainer with 9.68% share price appreciation closing at Ksh 6.80 per share, followed by Eveready East Africa (+8.91%). Safaricom recorded the highest volume of 12.6 million traded shares, followed by Equity Group Holdings (1.03m), Absa Bank Kenya (564,900) and NCBA…