Centum Investment Company profit after tax for the full year ended March this year grew to Sh2.5 billion, an improvement from a net loss of Sh9 billion during a similar period in the preceding fiscal year.

Centum Group CEO James Mworia attributed the growth to improved performance and profitability of investee companies.

The firm said that the performance signals a strong start to the Centum five-year growth strategy that will focus on value optimization.

“The operating environment has been volatile, and while this could persist in the short term we believe that there exist pockets of opportunities that can be maximized through an active investment strategy to optimize and monetize the portfolio value,” said Mworia.

The group investment portfolio also increased by Sh6.1 billion in the year to Sh66.5 billion, while the retained earnings also hiked by Sh2.6 billion to Sh39 billion.

Centum Real Estate (Centum Re) was a star performer in the year, generating a total of Sh3.7 billion in sales, a Sh3.6 billion uptick in the fair value of investment property, and Sh2.5 billion in net profit.

Consequently, the company has proposed a payout of Sh210 million (Sh0.32 per share) in dividends out of the Sh692 million the business generated from its portfolio investments, in line with its policy of paying out dividends equivalent to 30 percent of total annuity income in any financial year.

“Financial year 2023/24 marked the close of the Centum 4.0 strategy period. We believe that the core objective of preservation of shareholder value in the face of economic headwinds was largely achieved.

“As we transition into the new strategy period named Centum 5.0, our focus is on optimization of the value of the current portfolio of investments. We are working towards scaling up the various businesses and monetizing them to realize a minimum of their carrying values.”