Investment firm Centum has issued a profit warning citing lower disposal of investments and effects of Covid-19 on the private equity portfolio business. The firm recorded a Sh 7.4 billion profit in the 2019 financial year marking a 79 per cent growth from 2018. In its half year results from April 1 2020 to September, Centum, as a stand-alone company, made a net profit of Sh95million from a loss of Sh1.6billion in the same period in the previous year. However, on a consolidated basis, the group made a loss of Sh1.98billion from a net profit of Sh6.79billion due to poor performance of some of its portfolio companies such as Longhorn Publishers and NAS Servair. Centum real estate also completed land sales in this financial year and booked approximately Sh2billion in revenue at a significant value uplift on the initial cost.

Source: The Star March 24, 2021 15:00 UTC