KenolKobil almost doubles earnings to Sh1billion

Oil marketer KenolKobil almost doubled its earnings for the period ending December 2014 riding on lower operating costs.

The dealer’s net profit in the period stood at Sh1 billion up from Sh558.4 million over a similar period last year.

The significant growth in earnings defied a decline in sales volume which closed at Sh91.3 billion down from Sh109.6 billion registered in 2013.

Operating costs fell by a quarter from Sh2.5 billion the previous year to Sh1.9 billion in the period under review.

It represented a further drop which had declined by 52 per cent in 2013.

The oil dealer made huge cuts in its financing activities and operational costs for a second year running, leading to higher margins that drove the profit growth despite low sales volumes.

“This reflects the continuation of the turnaround and recovery strategies of the group’s performance reported since 2012,” Group Managing Director David Ohana through a statement on Wednesday.

He said KenolKobil is well placed to continue performing strongly going forward.

“This is supported by organic growth initiatives in Kenya, and subsidiaries which resulted from takeovers of 37 new petrol stations during 2014,” he said.

It declared a dividend of Sh0.20 per share, which is double what was paid out after 2013 results.