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| Thousands of tea pickers went on strike late last year demanding higher wages, hurting production and quality of tea. FILE PHOTO | NMG |
Agricultural firm Sasini posted a 14 per cent decline in net profit in the year ended September, citing lower production and price drop for its tea and coffee exports.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm’s net earnings stood at Sh293.5 million in the review period compared to Sh339.4 million the year before.
Sasini declared a final dividend of Sh0.5 per share, payable on January 31, to shareholders on record as of January 7.
This will bring the total payout for the year to Sh1 per share, with another Sh0.5 per share having been distributed earlier this year. Thousands of tea pickers went on strike late last year demanding higher wages, hurting production and quality of tea.
Sasini says its tea output in the review period fell four per cent to 10,804 tonnes from 11,208 tonnes a year earlier. The lower production combined with a decline in prices of tea and coffee to bring down revenues 16 per cent to Sh3.5 billion.
“Although both the tea and coffee markets remained buoyant in the first half of the year, price realisations declined steadily thereafter affecting turnover and profitability,” Sasini said.