KPA upbeat as profits hit Sh15b, buoyed by SGR

The Kenya Port Authority has recorded a Sh15.4 billion profit after tax in the 2018-2019.

This, according to the corporation, is the highest ever in what a report attributes to improvement in operations efficiency at the port resulting from high volumes of cargo.

Last year, KPA posted profit after tax was Sh9 billion.

The KPA financial performance from 1st July 2018-31st to May 2019 saw revenue from operations rise to Sh48.8 billion while the expenditure was Sh34.8 billion at the same period, the finance income was Sh1.9 billion leaving a net profit of Sh15.4 billion.

The report noted that the increase in the operating growth of 61 percent was due to reduction in the operations cost causing an impact on generation of revenues. It also credited the the modernisation programme and introduction of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). 

According to KPA Financial Report for 2019, there was a total transit cargo recorded 3.3million tons against 3million tons registered in the same period in 2017/18. KPA Managing Director Daniel Manduku credited increase in the operating growth of 61 percent to infrastructural projects including the Second Container Terminal and expansion of the Nairobi Inland Container Depot in the last five years, as some of the achievements that has pushed growth.

Manduku said the port of Mombasa had outlined plans to handle two million containers annually by 2022 from the current 1.2 million TEUs.

“The push to have importers use the SGR and collect their cargo from Nairobi Inland Depot at Embakasi resulted to increased business at the facility that saw it handling a record 257,972 TUEs in 2017,” said Dr Manduku.

He said they are also reviewing the KPA Act, which was enacted in 1978 to enable the adoption of the Land Port Model and have several ports across the country as part of improving efficiency. “Currently, the port handles 30 million tonnes of cargo annually, but we want to increase it to 45 million tones in the next four years,” he said.

The 45 million tones, the MD said, will make KPAachieve Sh100 billion revenue annually. He said the target of handling the cargo traffic of 2 millionTeus will keep KPA in a strategic level in terms of ability of moving cargo from the port to the hinterland. “We are currently at 1.3 million teus, but we would like to get to 2 million in the midterm, we are banking on improved cargo clearance services and good governance structure to be the best managed port in Africa,” said Manduku.