Oil marketer KenolKobil nearly doubled its net profit for the year ended December 31, helped by lower costs that boosted its margins despite lower sales.
The group’s net profit in the period stood at Sh1 billion compared to Sh558.4 million the year before. This came despite 2014 sales declining to Sh91.3 billion from Sh109.6 billion.
KenolKobil made deep cuts in its financing activities and operational costs for a second year running, leading to higher margins that drove the profit growth on a smaller turnover.
Operating costs were down 25 per cent from Sh2.5 billion in 2013 to Sh1.9 billion last year. The 2013 figure was 52 per cent below the 2012 level.
“The organisation is well placed to generate continued strong performance,” said Group Managing Director David Ohana. “This is supported by organic growth initiatives in Kenya, and subsidiaries which resulted from takeovers of 37 new petrol stations during 2014.”
The company declared a dividend pay-out of Sh0.20 per share, double what it had paid on the 2013 results.
