Centum Investments share price continued to fall sharply piling pressure on management amid loses.

The firm posted a loss of Sh606 million in the year ending December 2021, compared to a loss of Sh3 billion the previous year.

Centum’s stock has since dropped from Sh45 a share in 2017 to a low of Sh12 yesterday. Centum has issued 660 million listed shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and trades an average volume of about 30 million per year. This indicates the majority of the investors may be avoiding the stock.

“The continuous share price collapse of loss-making Centum is very worrying,” said Independent risk analyst Mihr Thakrar.

Investors in pain

The dip in share prices has raised concerns with pundits saying on social media that it is hurting investors. However, Centum CEO James Mworia claims the company’s share price is not aligned to the company’s net asset value and that the market does not have sufficient information on the performance of the company.

“As stated in my last year’s letter, we are working to implement various strategies that seek to narrow the price to value gap that exists between Centum’s share price and net asset value per share,” said Mworia.

“Based on the market feedback we have received, the gap arises from factors such as information gap and higher risk perceptions,” the CEO said.  The company’s real estate was among other players in the sector that were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in low turnover liquidity concerns. 

Centum has also invested in horticulture, Longhorn Publishers, Auto dealer Isuzu, banking sector and in marketable securities.