Uchumi among top gainers as party ends for EA cables

The share price of the troubled retailer, Uchumi Supermarket, surged in the week ended February 21 on news of planned restructuring.

Data from the weekly bulletin by the Central Bank of Kenya shows that the retailer’s share price rose by close to seven per cent to hit Sh0.33, emerging as the biggest gainer.

The firm’s share price has been picking over the weeks, albeit slowly as hopeful investors expect good news. The meeting planned for March 13 aims to address pressing financial concerns and comes after the supermarket chain entered a company voluntary arrangement in a bid to restructure its debts.

Uchumi, once the leader in Kenya’s retail sector, has faced significant challenges over the past decade leading to its financial collapse.

The agenda for the upcoming online gathering includes an update on debt restructuring, negotiating with suppliers and future as Uchumi eyes a turnaround. Unga Group, which narrowed its loss for the year ended June 2024 to Sh669.5 million from Sh959.3 million, has been gaining at the Nairobi bourse, closing the week among top five gainers.

Data shows the miller’s share rose 6.19 per cent to close the week at Sh21.45, a trend expected to continue for the coming weeks as investors gear towards divided payout in March.

Kenya, which is set to unveil expansion strategy on February 28, saw its share price jump 5.85 per cent to close the week at Sh1.81 while Crown Paint saw its share price surge by 5.77 per cent to Sh33. The paint man’s share price is rising after shedding for the most part of last year.

Total closed the top five position having gained 4.35 per cent to Sh24.Several stocks that have been performing well since the begging of the year were among top losers during the week under review. East African Cables Limited led the pack, having shed 4.84 per cent to close the week at Sh2.36.

The drop is attributed to investors offloading after last month’s dividend payout. Others are Housing Finance which has started to tank following the culmination of its recently concluded Rights Issue which was oversubscribed by 38.32 per cent.

It closed the week at Sh.090 having shed 3.3 per cent. Overall, investors at the bourse gained Sh60 billion in paper wealth with the market capitalisation rising to Sh2.1 trillion from Sh2.04 trillion the previous week.

All indices improved, with the NASI, NSE 25 and the NSE 20 share price increasing by 2.7 per cent, 1.7 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, during the week ending February 20.