Car & General (Kenya) PLC recorded profit after tax of KSh 2.45 billion for the full year ended 31 December 2025, a 365.5% surge from KSh 526 million in FY2024.
- • A recovery in Kenya's motorcycle market and a sharp turnaround at associate company Watu Credit combined to deliver the group's strongest earnings in its listed history.
- •Revenue rose 21.0% to KSh 25.34 billion, gross profit expanded 45.2% to KSh 4.66 billion and EBITDA more than doubled to KSh 3.83 billion from KSh 1.51 billion.
- •Car & General holds a 29% stake in Watu, a buy-now-pay-later lender operating across eight African countries that finances motorcycles, smartphones, and other assets for informal sector borrowers.
The results cap a two-year recovery from the KSh 274 million loss posted in the 15-month period ending December 2023.
The boda boda segment drove the operational recovery with Car & General's Kenya motorcycle volumes recovering to a monthly average of 8,000 units in 2025 from 4,600 units in 2024, a rebound corroborated by KNBS data showing Kenya-wide motorcycle registrations rising to 241,763 units in 2025 from 118,308 in 2024, the strongest reading since the 285,203 peak in 2021.
The more decisive earnings driver was Watu Credit. Share of profit in associate surged 670.9% to KSh 1.69 billion from KSh 219.77 million, accounting for 57.8% of profit before tax of KSh 2.93 billion.
Watu had reported an 85% profit drop to US$1.2 million in 2024, hit by rising loan defaults in Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. The KSh 1.69 billion associate income in FY2025 signals a sharp turnaround, though Watu remains privately held and does not publish standalone financials.
Watu reported gross revenues of KSh 29.9 billion in 2024 and was targeting KSh 44 billion in 2025 as smartphone lending under its Watu Simu product overtook motorcycle financing as its fastest-growing segment. That pivot has strategic implications for Car & General: as Watu's loan book shifts toward handsets, the direct demand linkage with C&G's motorcycle assembly business weakens, leaving the stake as a pure financial investment whose returns hinge on Watu's credit risk management.
Finance costs rose 70.8% to KSh 672.51 million as non-current borrowings doubled to KSh 1.52 billion. Operating cash conversion fell to 33.5% of EBITDA from 93.2% in FY2024, pointing to a significant working capital build consistent with rapid inventory expansion in the motorcycle segment.
Uganda and Tanzania now account for over 56% of group sales, providing revenue diversification that helped cushion the group through Kenya's 2022 to 2024 downturn. Tanzania recorded strong growth in distribution and poultry, while Uganda posted a 24% sales decline.
The board recommended a final dividend of KSh 3.12 per share, bringing total FY2025 distributions to KSh 3.42 including the KSh 0.30 interim paid in September 2025. The AGM is scheduled for 23 June 2026, with dividend payment on or about 30 June 2026.
