Liberty Kenya Holdings has maintained a dividend of Sh0.50 per share despite higher claims and reduced investment income that cut its net profit by 65.3 percent in the year ended December 2025 when it exited the Tanzanian market.
The Sh267.85 million dividend will be paid subject to shareholders’ approval after the annual general meeting slated for May 29, 2026.
The board has proposed the payout despite net profit dropping to Sh659 million from Sh1.37 billion in the preceding financial year.
Claims rose to cut insurance service result —the difference between premiums received and claims paid out and spending on reinsurance— by 55 percent to Sh478 million from Sh1.06 billion.
In addition, investment income fell by 17.8 percent to Sh4.02 billion on the back of reduced returns on investment classes like government paper, fixed deposits and equities.
“Both the general and life insurance underwriting margins were negatively impacted by elevated motor, medical, fire and group life claims,” said the insurer in a commentary on financial statements.
“The investment performance in 2024, as expected, did not recur but investment income achieved targeted levels. Reducing interest rates had adverse impact on the general insurance earnings.”
The reduced earnings also came on the back of the insurer selling its entire 60 percent stake in Heritage Insurance Company Tanzania in April 2025. The deal saw Liberty book a Sh172 million loss from the discontinued operations.
“Despite a challenging claims environment and lower equity market returns compared with 2024, our businesses continued to grow premiums, maintain disciplined expense management, and deliver strong capital adequacy,” said Kieran Godden, CEO of Liberty Kenya.
Liberty Kenya is 73.47 percent owned by Liberty Holdings Limited, a South African registered investment holding company, saw its life subsidiary (Liberty Life Assurance Kenya) post a drop in net profit to Sh107 million in the year ended December 2025 from Sh187 million a year earlier.
The company’s short-term insurance unit, Heritage Insurance Company Kenya, returned a net profit of Sh524 million during the same period, being a 63 percent drop from Sh1.39 billion in the previous year.
