Nairobi Business Ventures PLC (NBV) has warned that its earnings for the financial year ending 31 March 2026 will decline by at least 25% compared to the previous year.
The alert places NBV among a growing number of companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange that have reported notable profit contractions over the past year.
In total, at least 13 firms across sectors such as insurance, aviation, advertising, tea, utilities, and retail have issued similar warnings.
Companies including CIC Insurance Group, Liberty Kenya Holdings, WPP Scangroup, Kenya Airways, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Centum Investment Company, Umeme, and Williamson Tea Kenya had already sounded the alarm before NBV.
NBV operates as a diversified group with interests across several segments. Its portfolio includes automobile servicing and heavy truck maintenance through Delta Automobile Limited, aircraft maintenance via Air Direct Connect, and a trading arm dealing in industrial and chemical products. The firm also owns roughly 28 acres of land initially earmarked for a cement plant, although that plan has been shelved due to funding constraints, with management now considering a shift towards property development.
The company’s financial performance over the past few years has been rather inconsistent. In FY2024, NBV reported a post-tax profit of KSh 17.8 million, more than doubling the KSh 8.6 million recorded in FY2023, largely driven by robust revenues from sodium silicate sales within its trading division.
However, FY2025 told a different story. Group revenue fell 37% to KSh 508.0 million from KSh 809.8 million, as trading income plunged 88% to KSh 48.9 million. Profit after tax slipped 11% to KSh 32.2 million, cushioned mainly by KSh 155.0 million in other income, which helped offset a sharp 64% rise in administrative costs.
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The first half of FY2026 has offered little comfort. Trading revenues dropped to KSh 137.5 million from KSh 280.5 million in the same period a year earlier, while the group posted a post-tax loss of KSh 78.3 million for the six months ending September 2025. Management indicated that the trading division had temporarily halted operations to stem further losses, while the truck maintenance business continued to grapple with high costs and weaker revenues.
The aviation segment provided a modest buffer, delivering what the company described as a fairly steady performance, though not enough to offset the broader downturn.
