More Woes for Standard Group as It Records Losses on NSE

Mombasa road-based media company, Standard Group Plc has registered losses on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as noted in the trading week closed on the 10th of November 2023.

The media giant closed the trading week at a stock value of Kshs5.54.

Comparatively, in the trading week that closed on the 3rd of November 2023, the media group closed with their shares trading at Kshs6.88 per unit.

Therefore, this was a loss in share value of 19.5 percent stock value.

On the shares traded on 2nd of November, Standard group’s shares closed at Ksh 5.90 Further, this was an additional loss in stock value of 0.34 percent.

This decline signifies more trouble for the media giant as the company has been facing financial issues with its employees complaining over lack of payment of salaries.

Financial Troubles by Standard Group

Earlier in November 2023 an employee of the standard group threatened to commit suicide through a staff-employer digital meeting platform, Slido citing frustrations over delayed salaries.

This incident opened the public’s eyes to the delayed salaries of Standard Group Plc staff including Kenya Union of Journalist and the government.

Further, on the platform Sildo, more employees noted the disparity of their pay in comparison to the pay that the senior staff were enjoying.

“It is very hard to participate when we get as little as 20 percent, not even enough to pay rent, yet you want us to keep our part of the bargain,” a user stated.

“How do managers get paid 70 percent of June’s salary and we get 20 percent of September? How do we come to work?” another added.

However, after intervention by the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), the employees finally received their full dues for the just ended month of October.

Also Read: Govt Intervenes in Standard Group Woes After Uproar

Top Losers in the Nairobi Securities Exchange

Additionally, the NSE recorded losses in the stock values of various companies. 

The top loser registered by NSE was Rwanda-based financial services company, Bank of Rwanda.

At the end of the trading week, the bank’s shares valued at Kshs33.00 which was a 5.71 percent drop in the share prices.

Kenyan based holding company, Unga Group Limited sold at Ksh15.10 which was a 5.03 percent drop in share value.

Furthermore, the mortgage finance institution, Housing Finance Limited, also recorded losses in the securities exchange with their stocks valuing at Kshs3.60 therefore, registering a 4.76 percent drop. 

Notably, Carbacid Limited was also a loser in the NSE

This may be of concern as the company has had its stock price climb more than 31% since the beginning of the year.

However, in a change of fortunes, it registered a loss in stock value of 2.91 percent. This was after closing the stock trading week with its shares valued at Kshs16.70. 

Additionally, Carbacid announced that it will pay its dividends to investors on December 15th, 2023.

Finally, Stanbic Holdings, a Kenyan based holding company, engaged in the banking sector, registered a loss of 1.96 percent.

This was after their shares were priced at Kshs100 at the end of the trading week November 10th

NSE Stocks Gainers

Nonetheless, the Nairobi Stocks Exchange trading week saw more companies gain their stock value.

Interestingly, Kenyan banks and insurance companies dominated the list of gainers in the stock exchange.

The banks include Cooperative and Equity Bank while the insurers were Britam and reinsurer, Kenya Reinsurance.

Longhorn Publishers Limited, however, was noted as the top gainer in the NSE with the share prices ending at Ksh2.56.

This is in comparison with the previous trading week share prices, which stood at Kshs2.37.

Therefore, this was a gain of 9.40 percent for the publisher which is listed on the NSE under the ticker symbol LKL.

Britam also registered a gain of 6.25 percent after ending the trading week at Ksh5.10.

This was in comparison to the previous trading week that closed on the 3rd of November when the insurers’ shares priced at Ksh 4.97.

Additionally, Cooperative Bank’s shares gained in value to a high of Kshs10.70.

This is in comparison to the previous trading day’s results, which rested at Ksh10.20.

However, this was a drop from the close of the previous week’s results of Kshs11.35.

For the entirety of the week, the bank’s shares had been on a free fall till Friday, 10th, 2023 where they changed trajectory and gained to the now registered price of Kshs 10.70. 

Despite the hikes and drops in the bank’s share prices, NSE recorded Cooperative Bank as one of the top sellers in shares selling 183,800 shares.

Other Gainers in the Nairobi Stocks Exchange

Additionally, government owned Kenya Reinsurance Corporation Limited (Kenya Re) registered a 4.71 percent gain with the share value resting at Ksh1.78 per unit.

Notably, the government owns the majority shares in the company (360, 000,000) which accounts for 60% ownership.

The remainder 40 percent of shares amounting to 240,000,000 shares are held by the public.

Also Read: Safaricom Shares Hit a Record Low at NSE

Finally, the NSE registered Equity Bank as one of the top gainers in the previous trading week.

On this, Equity’s shares sold at Kshs39 per unit which represented a 4.70 percent gain.

This was in comparison to the trading week ended on 3rd November when the shares at Equity Bank were priced at Ksh37.10.

Also, Equity bank was one of the top movers in the exchange selling 434,900 shares.