Unga Group's Interim Profit Spikes by 537% on Lower Finance Costs

Unga Group has returned to profitability in the six months ended December 2025, posting a 537% jump in interim profit after tax to KSh 523.2 million as operating margins recovered sharply and finance costs fell by more than half.

• •Revenue rose 12% to a record KSh 14.48 billion, lifting operating profit to KSh 746.8 million, as tighter cost control and easing interest rates offset subdued consumer demand and elevated raw material prices.
• •A key driver of the rebound was the sharp reduction in finance costs, which fell 53% year on year to KSh 106.2 million, reflecting lower interest rates and reduced financing pressure.
• •Profit before tax rose to KSh 688.8 million from KSh 127.0 million, while earnings per share rose to KSh 4.48 from KSh 0.63, restoring interim profitability to levels last seen during the group’s mid-2010s peak.

In the December 2017 half-year, operating profit peaked at about KSh 717 million on revenue of KSh 11.1 billion.

The latest interim results mark a clear break from the loss-making, low-return stretch between 2020 and 2024, when elevated input costs, sharp foreign-exchange depreciation, and high borrowing costs pushed margins into negative territory and strained working capital.

The December 2025 outcome instead points to a margin-led recovery, with operating margin rising to just over 5% from below 3% a year earlier, underpinned by lower finance costs and tighter operational control.

The group has cautioned that consumer purchasing power remains constrained and that global supply pressures continue to weigh on key raw materials. Weather-related risks to grain supply were also flagged as a potential downside in the second half of the financial year.

Despite the improved performance, the board did not recommend an interim dividend, opting instead to conserve cash and rebuild working capital eroded during the loss years.