The Nairobi Securities Exchange has joined the list of firms to issue a profit warning Announcement this year. This means that the company’s profits will drop by more than 25% in the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the Company for the financial year ended 31 December 2019, as compared to that for the same period ending 31 December 2018.
In the profit warning statement, the board of the company blames the drop in profit to adverse and challenging economic environment and reduced inflow of capital from global frontier market investors who are key participants in the NSE.
The company remains optimistic and took proactive action to sustain its performance, which included a cost rationalization strategy, diversification of its business offerings, with the full launch of its Derivatives Market, implementation of the Ibuka Program – which now hosts 22 companies since its inception in December 2018 – and a refocus on its data and training businesses.
In addition the NSE commissioned the new trading platform which not only provides a highly available and efficient trading infrastructure but also has capabilities for Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB), Day Trading and Short Selling which will lead to improved trading performance, enhanced liquidity and a more diverse pool of capital.