KQ Flies Back Into Loss Territory

Hello 👋🏽 It's Brian from The Kenyan Wall Street. In today's newsletter edition…

• Kenya Airways’ results are out: and they are not pleasing at all.

• The government is trying to weigh the costs of evacuating its citizens from the turbulent gulf region…

KQ Flies Back Into Loss Territory

By Harry Njuguna

Kenya Airways has returned to familiar turbulence: after a brief respite in 2024, the carrier plunged back into the red in 2025, posting a net loss of KSh 17.2 billion. Revenue fell 14%, a casualty of grounded Dreamliners that cut both capacity and passengers, highlighting the airline’s chronic vulnerability to operational hiccups.

Negative equity deepened to KSh 132 billion, underscoring structural fragilities that no short-term cash-flow uptick can disguise. Passenger numbers, down 13% from the previous year, tell a quieter story of lost confidence and a market that remains unwilling to forgive repeated stumbles.

For an airline whose history reads like a ledger of losses punctuated by fleeting profit, 2025 is less a surprise than a reminder that KQ has yet to learn how to fly without falling.

More updates on KQ’s financial results here >>>>>

The Cost of Evacuations

By Brian Nzomo 

Kenya is scrambling to evacuate citizens from conflict zones, even as the latest supplementary estimates provide only minimal funding for diaspora support. Lawmakers are being asked to release KSh400 million, while officials prioritize vulnerable citizens, especially children, on small repatriation flights. Meanwhile, airlines face airspace disruptions and rising fuel costs, complicating logistics and straining government resources. Passenger demand has surged, and rerouted flights add both delay and expense to an already urgent mission. The challenge reveals how quickly routine consular systems are overwhelmed when crises hit abroad.

Read the article here >>>>>

Aviation Firms Locked in a Row

By Fred Obura

An aircraft leased to Airworks Kenya Limited collided with another plane in South Sudan, leaving a company facing repair costs of over US$128,000 and operational losses exceeding US$75,000. Renegade Air Limited successfully claimed US$95,000 in a partial judgment, after Airworks had admitted to a commitment to pay but remitted only part of the sum. The court declined to strike out the remaining US$402,087 in dispute, citing questions over maintenance billing and the circumstances of the South Sudan incident. As both companies prepare for a full trial, the ruling highlights how a single “ground incident” can reverberate across regional aviation contracts.

Read the article here >>>>>

Sidian Bank Profit Jumps 500%

By Harry Njuguna

Sidian Bank’s latest results point to something larger than a strong year: the quiet transformation of a small lender into one powered mainly by public-sector funds.

Financial Snapshot:

🟢 Profit after tax surged to KSh 1.73 billion from KSh 287 million, the strongest result in the bank’s history.

🟢 Customer deposits jumped 62.9% to KSh 72.3 billion and total assets rose 50.8% to KSh 90.8 billion.

🟢 Instead of expanding loans aggressively, the bank redirected much of the new money into government securities, which now make up 54% of total assets.

🟢 Operating income climbed 79.2% to KSh 8.24 billion while the cost-to-income ratio improved sharply to 73.2%.

Read the financial analysis here >>>>>

The Strait of Hormuz:  How Kenyan Businesses Can Navigate Price Shocks

By Henok Eyob

The Strait of Hormuz has become a crucible for Kenyan business, where the faint tremors of global disruption are felt in real time on balance sheets. Fuel shipments stall in Gulf ports, freight rates spike, and the shilling wavers, turning familiar cost structures into unfamiliar terrain. For some firms, dollar liabilities against shilling revenues are a trapdoor; for others, export earnings and hedges offer a fragile, fleeting reprieve. In this moment, the art of corporate survival is less about expansion than about clarity: knowing exposure, measuring risk, and choosing judiciously where to adjust before the next ripple arrives.

Read the opinion article here »»»»»

Heads Up 

On Your Watchlist 

Is the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) only for the rich? In this episode of Wall Street Mtaani, Charity Hudini sits down with Wesley Manambo from SIB to break down the "truth of the streets" vs. the reality of the markets.

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