Sasini to Increase Capital to Sh300m

Sasini Tea and Coffee Limited shareholders have agreed to raise the company's authorised share per capital from Sh200 million to Sh300 million to accommodate expansion on value addition.

At the same time, the company has been given a Coffee Marketing Agency licence by Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK) to enable it to process its own coffee and sell it directly.

Managing Director Mr Peter Muthoka said the licence will enable the company to market its own coffee and also be a milling and marketing agent for other farmers.

"We thank the Government for liberalising the coffee sector. The license to mill our own coffee will save the company between $70 to $80 per tonne which we were giving to Socfinaf," Mr Naushad Meralli, the chairman of Sameer Group, said.

The coffee mill, which is Sasini's second major initiative after the launch of branded teas and coffee in July this year, has already undergone trial runs and is expected to commence commercial operations shortly.

Speaking during the company's extra-ordinary general meeting and investor briefing at Kamundu Coffee Estate, Muthoka said the company will build Sasini into a strong product brand to leverage the launch of other Sasini products like mineral water, dairy and horticultural products.

"We want to take our brand to the neighboring countries, to the Comesa region, and eventually, to the international market," Muthoka said.

Meralli said that the value added teas and coffees, packed to international standards, have received a positive response in the market.

"We have a vision to be the leading agro- industrial company in East Africa, and I can see the company taking deliberate and firm steps to achieve that goal," said Meralli.

The company has invested over Sh40 million in the latest technology in upgrading the tea factories. Further investments are planned to upgrade coffee processing.

Sasini recorded an interim nine-month profit from operations of Sh70 million as at June 30, against a loss of Sh38 million recorded last year.

Tea production of the firm stood at 8.28m kilos in the year to June 30, as opposed to 7.38m kilos last year. But coffee production was lower due to drought, at about 1,000 tonnes compared to the previous years 1,235 tonnes.

At the Nairobi Stock Exchange, Sasini share has risen from Sh24 last year to Sh114 this week.