Tag: Orlando Lyomu

The Standard Group CEO staff communication meeting, scheduled for Wednesday 16th August 2023, is expected to be a turning point for Standard Group, Kenya’s second biggest newspaper company that is facing financial difficulties.

The exit comes barely a fortnight after a crucial board meeting that sealed Lyomu's fate.

Tension is high tension within Standard Group top management as the board meets today to chart a new direction for the media company.

The Standard, had its loss balloon to Ksh1 billion for the period ending December 2022, from just Ksh22 million in 2021. It's the biggest loss in its over 120-year history.

The financial situation at Standard Group is getting dire by the week. While employees are getting used to salary delays, the reality is beginning to sink in: day by day they are getting broke and broke.

Standard Group has been struggling financially in the last five years, oscillating between losses and little profits, all blamed on management that has focused so much on expansion at the expense of viability of projects.

Standard’s HR department led by Nicholas Siwatom is having a nightmare managing staff expectations and an even bigger problem when recruiting as the group is increasingly becoming unattractive to top talent.

The company’s management is cautiously optimistic, however, saying the business still faces challenges as Covid-19 continues to shake the country and media consumption and advertising trends shift. Standard Group posted a Ksh434 million pre-tax loss for the year ended 31st December 2020, an improvement from Ksh684 million loss recorded in 2019.