Motor vehicle dealer Isuzu East Africa paid its shareholders a record Sh1 billion dividend in the year ended March 2023, enhancing returns for its owners including Yokohama-based Isuzu Motors.

The cash distributions have been disclosed by Centum Investment Company Plc which said it received a dividend of Sh180.5 million in the review period for its 17.8 percent stake in the dealer which sells its namesake trucks, buses, pick-ups and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

This means that Isuzu distributed a total of Sh1 billion to its shareholders, including the Japanese automaker with a 57.7 percent stake and Itochu Corporation (4.5 percent).

State-owned Kenya Development Corporation, the successor to ICDC, also holds a 20 percent stake in Isuzu.

The motor vehicle dealer, a private firm, does not release its financial results to the public.

Centum’s disclosures, however, indicate the improved profitability and dividend distribution that Isuzu has made in the past five years.

The latest dividend represents a compound annual growth rate of 49.44 percent from the distribution of Sh136 million it made in the year ended March 2019.

In the subsequent financial year, Isuzu raised the payout 5.2 times to Sh716.2 million and further hiked it to Sh762.8 million in the year ended March 2021.

The company cut the cash distribution marginally to Sh754.6 million in the next financial year.

Isuzu was among Centum’s portfolio companies that maintained dividend payouts through the Covid-19 pandemic that saw scores of companies suspend cash distributions in the wake of reduced sales and weaker earnings.

The investment firm says it is ready to sell its Isuzu stake if it gets a compelling offer.

“Centum to continuously review any additional scope for value creation and if deemed fit, to exit at the right price,” the company said at an investor briefing last week. It values the Isuzu stake at about Sh3 billion.