Uchumi share price soars to among big 5

Speculators at the Nairobi Securities Exchange shrugged off financial woes facing embattled Uchumi Supermarket to catapult the share among top five movers in the week that ended Friday.

The retailer moved 870,400 shares to earn its seat among NSE’s big five including Safaricom, KCB, Equity Bank and Co-operative Bank.

Uchumi was also among the top five gainers of the week, its share price having grown 3.2 per cent to close at Sh0.32.

The firm’s share price has been picking up over the weeks, albeit slowly as hopeful investors anticipate capital injection.

The retailer held a meeting on March 13 aimed at addressing pressing financial concerns which came after the supermarket chain entered a company voluntary arrangement in a bid to restructure its debts.

Unga Group, which returned to profitability in February after an almost three-year dry spell, continued to command growth, with its share price leading the gain train by 8.48 per cent to close the week at Sh24.95.

Investors at the animal and human food processors have increased their paper wealth by almost Sh2 per share in the past two weeks.

The firm reported a profit of Sh82 million in the first six months to December, rising from a Sh346.1 million loss in the previous financial year.

This week, all eyes will be on Equity Bank which is expected to announce record profits for the year ended December 31, 2024.

This is after other top lenders including KCB, Co-operative and Standard Chartered dominated trading in the past fortnight.

Centum PLC, which entered into a partnership with Arise, a developer of industrial ecosystems in Africa, to launch a Sh387 billion initiative aimed at creating 500,000 jobs at the Vipingo Special Economic Zone on the Kenyan coast, saw its share price rise by 2.75 per cent.