Wanjigi, Baloobhai trade Sh46m Carbacid shares

Prominent businessmen Baloobhai Patel and James Maina Wanjigi traded Carbacid Investments shares worth Sh46 million in the year ended July, according to the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm’s latest annual report.

Mr Wanjigi, who stepped down as the company’s director in 2018 after 49 years, has been selling his shares while Mr Patel has been building up his stake.

In the review period, Mr Wanjigi sold 2.6 million shares with a current market value of Sh21.9 million. This reduced his holdings to 1.2 million shares from 3.8 million shares.

The remaining shares have a market value of Sh10.2 million. Mr Wanjigi has steadily sold down his stake in Carbacid where his ownership last peaked at 12 million shares in 2015.

Mr Patel meanwhile bought 2.9 million shares worth Sh24.4 million in the review period, raising his holdings to 90.1 million shares from 87.2 million shares. This cemented his position as the company’s top investor with an ownership equivalent to a 35.39 percent stake and worth Sh755.8 million.

Mr Patel’s purchases are seen as an expression of his confidence that Carbacid will ride out its current challenges.

The company has in recent years suffered from increased competition in its mainstay carbon dioxide business. It has lost significant market share to regional alcohol manufacturers who harness carbon dioxide as a byproduct of their production process, leading to lower This has seen sales drop from highs of Sh956.8 million in 2013.

Besides carbon dioxide, the company also runs an investment operation that holds a portfolio of government bonds, bank deposits and real estate.

Carbacid’s net profit dropped 11.3 percent in the year ended July on the back of a higher tax bill. Its net earnings in the review period stood at Sh264.5 million compared to Sh298.5 million the year.

The company’s pre-tax earnings was nearly flat at Sh377.1 million but the tax charged rose to Sh112.5 million from Sh80.4 million. This represented an effective tax rate of 29.8 percent in the review period compared to 21.2 percent a year earlier.

Carbacid’s sales of carbon dioxide increased 11.4 percent to 630.5 million while other revenue items including interest income rose 3.5 percent to Sh203 million.

The company ended the year with unrealised fair value losses of Sh54.9 million on its equity investments.