Crown Paints delays financial results as CIC, UAP run into losses

Crown paint Group Chief Executive officer, Rakesh Rao [PHOTO: Omondi Onyango]

NAIROBI, KENYA: Crown Paints has warned it would delay the release of its 2020 full-year financial results by over a month.

The firm was expected to release the results by end of April as per the rules of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

“The delay in finalisation of the audited financial statements has been occasioned by the difficult circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and especially the various measures restricting movement put in place by the Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda governments,” said Conrad Nyukuri, Company Secretary.

“The company has sought the approval of the CMA for an extension to file its audited financial statements on or before June 15, this year,” he added.

Meanwhile, CIC Group and UAP Holdings on Friday reported losses signifying challenging 2020 widely linked to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

CIC Group, which made a profit of over Sh321 million profit in 2019, recorded a loss last year of Sh296.8 million.

UAP Holdings on the other hand reduced its losses in 2020 to Sh1.3 billion from Sh3.4 billion loss in 2019.

In a statement, UAP Holdings attributed the decline in losses to non-recurrence of the property write-downs experienced in the previous year. “…but still a loss largely due to reduced investment income in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic impact on the capital markets and a higher expense base,” said Joseph Wanjui, UAP Holdings Chairman.

“Gross written premiums were up 9 per cent driven by our core short term insurance businesses reversing the trend of flat growth in recent years. Net earned premiums were up 2 per cent over 2019 in line with gross earned premiums which were up 4 per cent,” he noted.

Following the losses, the board of directors of both CIC Group and UAP Holdings recommended no dividend for 2020.