Listed electrical cables and conductor manufacturer, East African Cables, has lauded growing support for local manufacturers from Kenya Power as part of a strategy to enhance reliable electrical power distribution.
According to the cable manufacturer’s chief executive, Paul Muigai, Kenya Power has steadily increased its efforts to avail procurement opportunities for local manufacturers as part of the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BeTA).
Speaking when he confirmed the dispatch of the first batch of Sh 232 million electrical cables and conductor’s consignment to Kenya Power, Muigai said sustained placing of orders with local manufacturers will have a positive ripple effect on the local economy.
“As we flag off the first batch, East African Cables celebrates the continued support by Kenya Power to local manufacturers, which is a boost for the national industrialization and economic transformation efforts,” Muigai said.
He added that the company is on course to service the order placed by Kenya Power in several batches running through to the year end.
“We manufacture quality cables and conductors for high, medium and low voltage power transmission, and the order placed by Kenya Power for medium voltage cables will be delivered under a flexible framework supply model,” Muigai said.
In its recently released half-year results, East African Cables Kenya Plc has maintained a growth trajectory, sustained by growing demand from retail and wholesale sales for building and construction projects.
The company recorded a 24% growth in gross profit attributed to increased sales volumes in the retail sector, sustained market development and communication efforts and improved operating efficiencies.
Despite the prevailing macroeconomic challenges, including accelerated depreciation of the Kenya Shilling to the US Dollar and constrained working capital, the company maintained a strict operating costs containment strategy, leveraging the entrenched continuous improvement practices.