Sasini Plc returned to profitability in FY2025 ended September 30th, reporting a net profit of KSh 188Mn after a KSh 562.9Mn loss a year earlier, as stronger coffee and macadamia prices lifted revenue to a record KSh8.44Bn.
- •The rebound marked a sharp earnings swing, but underlying cash flow and cost dynamics point to a recovery still heavily dependent on pricing rather than structural margin improvement.
- •Revenue rose 22.5% year on year, extending a post-Covid surge that has seen sales double from KSh4.15Bn in 2020.
- •Over a longer horizon, revenue has expanded more than 35 times from about KSh0.24Bn in the early 1990s.
That growth, has been uneven, with prolonged stagnant phases, including 2000–2008 below KSh1Bn and 2009–2015 largely under KSh3Bn, due to the group’s exposure to commodity cycles.
Cash flow was the weakest part of the FY2025 performance. Operating cash flow swung to a deficit of KSh450.9Mn from an inflow of KSh390.8Mn a year earlier, driven by rising working capital requirements. After capital expenditure, free cash flow fell to –KSh647.0Mn. Cash and bank balances declined 39.8% to KSh559.2Mn, while KSh498.1Mn in borrowings appeared on the balance sheet, tightening liquidity despite the return to profit.Margin pressure remains structural. Cost of sales climbed to KSh7.43Bn, absorbing nearly 88% of revenue, leaving gross profit at KSh1.01Bn. While that was an improvement from KSh589Mn in FY2024, it remained well below the KSh1.80Bn peak recorded in 2022. Over the past two decades, the cost of sales has often grown faster than revenue, limiting operating leverage even during periods of strong top-line growth.
Operating profit improved to KSh407.6Mn from a KSh680.7Mn loss in FY2024, supported by firmer pricing and a KSh156.5Mn fair value gain on biological assets. That uplift, however, was non-cash and sensitive to interest rates and commodity prices. Net finance income deteriorated to a KSh63.6Mn cost, reflecting higher financing costs and weaker interest income.
While Sasini has recorded losses in only seven years over nearly four decades, FY2025 reinforces a familiar pattern: profits recover sharply when prices turn favorable, but persistent cost intensity and volatile cash flows continue to constrain the durability of those gains.
