BOC Kenya Plc Half-Year Net Profit Drops 39.8% to KSh 100.4 Million

BOC Kenya Plc, a listed supplier of industrial, medical and specialty gases, saw its net profit for the first half of this year drop 39.8% to KSh 100.4 million. This is on account of a17% rise in distribution, selling, and administrative expenses, triggered by inflationary pressures and higher fuel and energy costs, which pulled down its earnings.

BOC Kenya, majority owned 65% by BOC Holdings UK- part of Linde Group-the world’s largest industrial gas firm, supports critical sectors of Kenya’s economy including healthcare, manufacturing, food processing, energy and research.

BOC Kenya H1 2026 Financial Results Highlights

•  Revenue: KSh 600.0million, a decline of 17.23%
• Profit After Tax: KSh 100.4 million, a 39.80% decline
• Total Assets: KSh 2.7Bn were up 11.69%
• Interim Dividend: KSh 4.00, an increase of 60.00%

BOC Kenya experienced a softer first half of 2026, with revenue down 17% primarily due to the absence of once-off customer engineering projects from the previous year.

While the transition toward its core business is gaining momentum in the second half, the firm is rewarding shareholders with a higher interim dividend of KSh 4.00 per share.

However, the firm faces the risk of a revenue contraction due to missing project revenues and rising operating expenses.

Its Net Profit surged 170% to KSh 166.7 million in the first half of 2025, compared to KSh 61.8 million in H1 2024, driven by growing demand for industrial and medical gases.

Despite a drop in earnings, the industrial gas dealer has nearly doubled its dividends payout to shareholders.

BOC Kenya has been in the limelight following an aggressive 4-year takeover bid of the firm by Carbacid Investments and Aksaya, worth KSh 1.2 billion. This deal failed to take place due to technicalities.

With a presence in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, BOC Kenya subsidiaries include East African Oxygen Limited, BOC Tanzania and BOC Uganda Limited.

The firm has been in focus for close to 4 years after Carbacid Plc, a listed carbon dioxide manufacturer, initially sought to acquire it in a KSh 1.2 billion deal. After a noisy battle that pitted Carbacid and powerful shareholders at BOC, this buyout proposal lost steam and fizzled out.

The takeover bid was suspended on 2 March 2021 following an appeal case filed by Kiuna Ngugi Kiuna, now the largest individual shareholder at the firm with a 17.91% stake. While this case was eventually dismissed by the Capital Markets Authority tribunal, Carbacid walked away from the deal table citing lapsed stipulated timelines.

BOC Holdings (UK) is the largest shareholder at the NSE listed firm with a 65.38% stake as at March 2025, followed by Kiuna Ngugi (17.91% or 3,497,026 shares).

Other top 10 shareholders include Allied Storage Limited , John Okuna Ogango , Mrs Carolyn Anne Gray Rosso, Margaret Wambui Ngugi, Ruphael, Shila Jayant Kumar Jamnadas and Njoroge Lucy Muthoni.

The firm’s shareholding is composed of the 10 top shareholders who own 89.19% of the firm while only 10% is held by other shareholders, Total issued shares amounts to 19,525,446 shares with foreign companies owning 68.385 or 13.4 million shares.

Established in Mombasa, Kenya, 85 years ago,  the firm has curved its space as a leading supplier of industrial, medical and special gases in East Africa.

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