Total Kenya posted 15.5 per cent drop in after-tax profit for the year ended December 2018 due to higher duties and operating expenses.
Net sales fell Sh3.5 billion to Sh107.9 billion, weighed down by a Sh3.1 billion rise in indirect taxes and levies which stood at Sh28.8 billion during the year.
Operating expenses rose by Sh428 million or eight per cent to Sh5.8 billion.
Total said in a statement that this was due to increased depreciation on property, plant and equipment.
Total Kenya #ticker:TOTL recorded a 15.5 per cent drop in after-tax profit for the year ended December 2018 due to higher duties and operating expenses.
Its net earnings dropped to Sh2.31 billion from Sh2.74 billion in 2017.
Net sales fell Sh3.5 billion to Sh107.9 billion, weighed down by a Sh3.1 billion rise in indirect taxes and levies which stood at Sh28.8 billion during the year.
Operating expenses rose by Sh428 million or eight per cent to Sh5.8 billion. Total said in a statement that this was due to increased depreciation on property, plant and equipment.
“Profit for the year recorded a drop of 16 per cent mainly resulting from the effect of volatile international prices of finished products negatively impacting margins in the price regulated segment,” said Total Kenya managing director Olagoke Aluko in a statement on Thursday.
International market
The price of crude oil in the international market was volatile in 2018.
After opening the year at $67 a barrel, crude prices rose gradually to hit a peak of Sh84 in September, before recording a sharp decline in the last quarter of the year to end December at $51 a barrel.
The firm’s bottom line was, however, helped by the stronger shilling against the dollar, which helped cut foreign exchange losses from Sh77.4 million in 2017 to Sh1.27 million last year.
In spite of the lower profit for the year, the firm has opted to keep its dividend unchanged (compared to 2017) at Sh1.30 per share, equating to a total payout of Sh388.1 million.
The firm’s share was trading at an average of Sh30 on Thursday, putting its dividend yield at 4.3 per cent at prevailing prices.
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