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Airborne again...
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After years of losses, Kenya Airways’ 2024 profit marks a real turnaround, driven by cargo growth and cost cuts, but lasting recovery depends on recapitalizing its still-negative balance sheet.
This and more stories in today's edition of our daily newsletter… I am Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street.
AIRBORNE AGAIN: Inside Kenya Airways’ Long Flight to Profitability
After more than a decade of financial turbulence, Kenya Airways has charted an unlikely return to profitability, posting a KSh 5.4 billion net profit in 2024—the first since 2012. This dramatic turnaround, spearheaded by acting CFO Mary Mwenga and encapsulated in the airline’s ‘Project Kifaru’, reflects a disciplined shift from survival to strategy.
Once defined by ballooning losses and fragile operations, KQ has reinvented itself through cost containment, cargo diversification, and a cultural shake-up that embedded financial rigor at every level. Cargo, engineering, and ground handling are no longer auxiliary—they’re pillars of a broader vision that challenges the airline’s legacy dependence on passengers.
Still, beneath the triumphant headlines lies a balance sheet weighed down by negative equity of KSh 118.2 billion — a reminder that the airline’s financial rehabilitation is not yet complete. With government debt poised for conversion and a global search underway for a strategic investor, the final act of KQ’s comeback hinges on recapitalization. Our Financial Analyst Harry Njuguna takes a deep dive on these plans >>>>>
Today's Poll
Do you think Kenya Airways will remain profitable this year? |
CONCRETE DEAL : Mi Vida Backers seal billions in finances
In a landmark private credit deal, Shapoorji Pallonji Group—co-owner of Kenya’s Mi Vida Homes—has secured $3.4 billion (KSh 438 billion) in financing, cementing its global financial clout. The funds, aimed at refinancing debt, promise greater stability and scalability for Mi Vida’s affordable housing mission. With Kenya’s housing demand outpacing supply fivefold, the joint venture with Actis targets 3,000 new homes in five years. Backed by deep-pocketed investors and international real estate muscle, here is how Mi Vida is positioning itself as a solution to Kenya's Housing…
Markets Recap
NSE Gainers and Losers
Source : NSE
ANALYSIS: Social Media is Shifting News Consumption Habits in Kenya
More Kenyans are now using social media as a primary source of news than any other media, although television and radio remain prominent sources of news, according to the State of Media Survey 2024 by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK). 33% of the respondents said they treat social media as their primary source of news, followed by television (31%) and radio (26%) and then social networks-family, friends, and colleagues-before digital media and newspapers. Read more »»»»»
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