Longhorn Publishers posted a loss after tax amounting to KSh237.9 million in the full year 2024, a 58.4 percent reduction from a KSh571.3 million loss recorded in the same period in 2023.
The narrowed loss is attributed to the 43.1 percent jump in revenue to KSh1.5 billion, which the company pins on enhanced penetration activities. This was however watered down by a 37.1 percent increase in the costs incurred during production.Operating expenses saw a 36 percent decrease to KSh410.9 million compared to 2023, which the company attributes to a leaner cost structure adopted in 2022. However, finance costs went up 12.3 percent to KSh 204.6 million on the prevailing high interest rates environment coupled with rising inflation.The loss before tax declined 70.4 percent to KSh285.1 million in the period ending June 2024 compared to KSh630.1 million in the same period 2023 – pointing to increased provisions and high interest rates.Consumers have notably reduced their spending on books amid the curriculum revisions taken up by the current regime due to the anticipated changes in textbooks, overhauling the already existing ones.
Operating profit, excluding provisions and impairment losses brought about by curriculum changes, grew by 176 percent to KSh165 million compared to an operating loss of KSh217 million a year prior.
In March 2024, Longhorn, in partnership with Safaricom, rolled out LoHo Learning – a digital learning platform – targeting 1,500 students in assembling learning tablets.
“With innovations already in place in the areas of interactive textbooks, games, science simulations and teacher dashboard which track learner engagement, we are on course to unveil a new era of learning in the region,” Longhorn said in a statement.
The board of directors did not recommend an interim dividend for the period with the publishing company keen on reducing debt and therefore finance costs.
Longhorn, which has been in loss -making territory, also operates in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Cameroon and DRC, with partnerships in Malawi and Zambia.
Longhorn Publishers is a publishing company listed at the Nairobi bourse under the ticker symbol LKL.
LKL closed the previous trading session at KSh2.30, a 4.6 percent year-to-date loss.
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