Kakuzi Plc shareholders have approved a first and final dividend payout of Ksh16 per ordinary share for the 2025 financial year.
This approval marks a 100 percent increase over the Ksh8 payout issued the previous year, as the listed agribusiness firm posted a strong profit recovery, driven largely by avocado exports.
The dividend approval was made during the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed company’s 98th Annual General Meeting, where executives defended the long-term viability of Kenya’s avocado export business despite mounting global market pressures and logistical disruptions.
The increased shareholder payout comes just months after Kakuzi reported a turnaround from a Ksh131.6 million after-tax loss in 2024 to a Ksh387.5 million after-tax profit in its 2025 full-year financial results.
Kakuzi profits surge
From revenues of Ksh5.4 billion, the superfoods producer — known for avocado, macadamia and blueberry farming — posted a pre-tax profit of Ksh568 million, reversing a Ksh167 million pre-tax loss recorded the previous year.
A major driver of the recovery was the company’s avocado segment, whose profits nearly doubled to Ksh709 million in 2025 from Ksh361 million in 2024.
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Speaking during the AGM, Kakuzi Managing Director Chris Flowers dismissed claims that Kenya’s avocado export model is becoming unsustainable, insisting that quality production continues to make the business commercially viable.
“The fact is, the business is challenging, but exporting fresh avocados remains viable as long as we produce quality fruit,” Flowers told shareholders.
Kakuzi exported 525 avocado containers last year, up from 446 containers the previous year, while production volumes rose by 23 percent despite pest and disease pressure affecting some exports.
However, company officials acknowledged that geopolitical instability — particularly disruptions stemming from unrest in the Middle East and disruptions to Red Sea shipping routes — continues to create significant uncertainty for exporters targeting European markets.
Kakuzi Chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a said the changing global environment had forced the company to accelerate diversification efforts across both products and export destinations.
“To mitigate risks, we are pursuing further diversification across products and markets while actively exploring income streams from non-agricultural enterprises,” Ng’ang’a said.
As part of that strategy, Kakuzi is now expanding beyond fresh avocado exports into value-added products, including frozen avocado pulp, crude avocado oil, and long-life avocado products to extend shelf life and reduce dependence on volatile shipping conditions.
Blueberry operations
The company is also aggressively scaling its blueberry business, which moved from an experimental venture into a profitable operation last year.
Kakuzi’s blueberry segment posted a Ksh5 million profit in 2025, recovering from a Ksh19 million loss the previous year as production volumes rose from 53 tons to 90 tons.
Meanwhile, the company’s macadamia business also recorded a sharp improvement, with profits climbing to Ksh365 million from Ksh69 million the previous year amid recovering global demand and stronger prices.
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Flowers said Kakuzi’s long-term growth strategy remains focused on “deliberate, purposeful, prudent and asset-preserving” expansion while strengthening value addition and domestic sales channels.
The company has also invested heavily in sustainability infrastructure, including expanding rainwater storage capacity by one million cubic meters to boost irrigation resilience.
Even as Kakuzi pushes diversification, company executives used the AGM to reject speculation about its landholdings firmly.
“Kakuzi’s land is not for sale, and neither are we giving it away,” company officials told shareholders. They maintained that the listed company is “an investment inheritance we are safeguarding for generations to come.”
