Fuel prices at a petrol station in Nyeri town on September 15, 2022 hours after Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority reviewed the rates. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NMG
Rubis Energy Kenya has disclosed that the fuel supply hitches earlier this year, which forced the closure of small independent players helped to boost its sales by 65 percent in the six months to June, revealing the gain that large marketers who could access the product enjoyed in the period.
Its French parent Rubis Energie, while not disclosing the specific volume of sales for Kenya, said the higher share of the local market in the period helped to boost the turnover in its African markets by 53.4 percent to Sh139.07 billion (1.195 billion euros).
The local unit also enjoyed a 25 percent jump in sales of cooking gas brand, K-Gas brand of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), according to the disclosures.
“The latter (Rubis Energy Kenya) also exceptionally benefited from the closure of small independent stations during the crisis that affected the market in March-April,” the multinational said in its financial report for the half year to June 2022.
Oil marketers have this year faced compensation delays from the government for keeping pump prices low in the wake of the global rally in global costs of refined fuel, with smaller dealers the worst hit due to their constrained capital positions.
Rubis Energy Kenya is the third biggest oil marketer with a market share of 10.73 percent, behind Vivo Energy (26.52 percent) and Total Energies (17.7 percent), data from the Petroleum Institute of East Africa shows.
The French firm also said that the dollar shortage remains a big challenge in its Kenyan and Nigerian markets, as is the depreciation of the shilling that raises the cost of importing fuel.
