Category Archives: Serena

Serena AGM

My leave comes to an end this week and the final AGM I attended was the 36th of TPS Serena at KICC on April 29th. Serena ended the year with a profit before tax of 198 million (up from 43m in 2003) – equivalent to earnings per share of Kshs. 3.37, out of which it will pay a total dividend of 1.1 shillings per share to ordinary shareholders.

T.P.S. Serena ended the week at 52 shillings per share (12 month high is 53). However, the Serena MD, Mr. Jan Mohamed, announced that the outlook for tourism in 2005 was restrained owing to higher prices for fuel, electricity, and food items which could impact negatively on the amount of local spending on tourism activities.

Chairman: The Chairman is Mr. Francis Okomo Okello, and Barclays shareholders (who flamed me earlier) will be happy to know that he is a seasoned chairman and manager as demonstrated at this AGM. He was very relaxed and natural and had a good rapport with shareholder especially during a thorny Q&A session. He engaged them with humour, Swahili proverbs, and was in command of the meeting, after which he mingled with shareholders at lunch.

Serena Restructuring: In a few months time, Serena shareholders will be asked to approve a corporate restructuring that will combine Serena properties in Tanzania and Zanzibar (where Serena is the leading tourism brand). Kenyan shareholders will be asked to exchange their shares in return for shares in a new East African Serena that will be double the turnover and size.

Sticky Point: The questions were typically mundane, and the only hitch for the Board came during election time. Up for re-election was a Britsh national, Mr. Iain Cheyne, who was absent (and had also been absent at the last AGM). Chairman Okello, apologized on his behalf but was taken to explain the “invaluable contribution” Cheyne made as a director despite his non-attendance of his own election. The Chairman urged shareholders to re-elect Cheyne (which they did) and directed them to the memo & articles of the company which specified how they could nominate other directors.

Business Briefs

Econet Licence Good: Econet is Back (for now at least) on track – But I won’t believe it till I see the launch, and a kiosk selling Econet airtime.

KRA is no IRS: The Kenya Revenue Authority is unable to pay 2.2 billion in VAT refunds it owes to corporations. They blame the Minister (Treasury) for giving away too many incentives and waivers.

Daima Bank: Depositors and Creditors of Daima Bank are invited to a meeting at 680 Hotel on 4th March at 10 a.m. where they will be given an update on attempts to revive the Bank that is now under statutory management by CBK.

Serena Profits: In a sign of the recovery in the tourism sector, Tourism Promotion Services (the Serena Hotels Group) announced a 420% increase in profits – from 25m in 03 to Kshs. 130 million in 2004.

Media: After reviving True Love and Drum Magazines, the Nation Media Group will now also revive the Weekly Review after taking over the name from Hillary Ng’weno.

Meanwhile, the Standard will launch a Coast magazine pullout in its Thursday paper, starting tomorrow, to compete against the Nation’s Coast Express which is published on Friday’s (as a separate weekly newspaper).

Supermarkets: Uchumi plans to do a share rights issue (similar to KCB in 04) in June 2005 to raise Kshs. 750 million.

Meanwhile, Nakumatt management confirmed plans to open 2 stores every year.

Airlines: An Official of Miami Dade Aviation wrote a letter to the Standard to clarify that (i) their recent visit to Kenya was to assist JKIA upgrade from a category II to Category I status which would enable direct flight to America, and also to promote a trade conference which will take place in the US later this year (ii) denied that they (Miami) had insisted that KLM/KQ alliance be dissolved (iii) confirmed that there were no plans yet for KQ to fly to Miami, at this stage, they have only presented a proposal to the KQ MD

Meanwhile Al-Etihad Airlines will fly from Abu-Dhabi to Nairobi.