Crown Paints Plc has reported a profit of Kes 599 million for the period ended 31st December 2020, an 85 % growth from the Kes 323 Million reported during the same period in 2019. The group attributed the growth to the third and the fourth quarter of the year, which the group said they saw favourable business activity due to residential repairs and improvements.
The group reported a 7% growth in turnover for the year ended 31 December 2020 to Kes 9 billion From Kes 288 million recorded during the same period in 2019.
Crown Paint Plc was, however, not immune to the effects of the COVID-19, which began in March with the group saying the year begun at a high note in January; however, due to the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the group was forced to shut down some of its businesses to remain afloat.
“For the Group’s business, the first quarter began brightly compared to a similar period in 2019 and had signalled a better 2020 performance. However, in March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed leading to three East African countries instituting the first lockdown measures in April 2020, as they tried to contain the spread of the virus. Our business closed in Rwanda and Uganda, however, for Kenya we remained open despite very low business.” Crown paints in their financial release.
Total assets in the Nairobi Securities Exchange Listed Company recorded a 1% growth from Kes 5.52 billion in 2019 to Kes 5.63 billion in the financial year ended 31st December 2020.
The group said the initial period of the lockdown had adverse effects on the business as they observed a shortage of materials inflows into the country. As a result, there was a slight shift upwards in raw material prices and a temporary shortage of certain products in the market. However, as governments worldwide instituted measures to ensure trade flow, the adverse effects continually decreased towards the end of the second quarter.
Crown Paints Outlook and Dividend
The group has expressed optimism in the company’s performance in 2021 as the management has changed its priorities by spending on matters that are only deemed necessary hence curtailing unnecessary spending.
The Board of Directors does not recommend payment of any dividend.
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