Driven by a dynamic equity market, the manager of the Nairobi Stock Exchange recorded solid results in 2017.
Nairobi Securities Exchange PLC, the company that manages the Nairobi stock market, announced Monday a net profit up 17.56%, to 216.25 million shillings (2.1 million dollars) for the year s’ ending December 31, 2017. Turnover increased by 5.57% to 757.03 million shillings ($ 7.5 million). Commenting on these results, the group’s management stated that “this performance was the result of a strengthening of the trading activity on the bond and equity markets, which rose by 1% and 17%, respectively”. The equity sub-fund benefited particularly from the sharp recovery observed in 2017: despite the context of political uncertainty (cancellation of the August 8 presidential election by the Supreme Court), the NSE 20, the main index of the Nairobi Stock Exchange , an increase of 31% in 2017. An increase compared to the poor performance of 2016 (-11%), where many economic flagships of the first East African stock market ($ 27 billion market capitalization) had experienced heavy falls.
In its statement, Nairobi Securities Exchange PLC also stressed that “the group has prudently managed its costs during the year, including through optimization and automation of processes.” As a result, its cost / income ratio, an indicator of operational efficiency, improved from 68% in 2016 to 66% in 2017.
The Management Board also recommended a dividend of 0.30 shillings per share, compared with 0.27 shillings last year, subject to the approval of the General Meeting, scheduled for 30 May.
