The Kenya Tea Development Agency Holdings Limited (KTDA) has announced it will pay out dividends for the 2024 financial year this week, ending months of waiting.
In a statement released on Monday, May 5, the agency announced that dividends would be paid to its tea companies, which make up its 54 corporate members, by Thursday, May 8.
According to KTDA, once the money has been disbursed, it will be up to the factories to decide how to spend it.
"The KTDA financial year 2024 dividends shall be paid out to the 54 KTDA corporate member shareholders (tea factory companies) by Thursday, 8th May, 2025," KTDA announced in their statement.
Adding, "The respective factory boards will thereafter resolve on the utilisation of the dividends."
KTDA further revealed that the dividends represented the income which had been generated by tea farmers through their factory companies.
"The income is drawn from the performance of KTDA's eight subsidiaries, which offer critical services across the tea value chain, including tea trading, insurance, microfinance, power generation, tea packing, engineering, logistics, and management," the agency added.
Typically, the calculation of dividends involves the audit of the financial results of KTDA Holdings' eight subsidiaries. Once approved, they are allocated to the factory companies, who decide on how best to utilise the funds.
In December 2024, farmers were treated to delightful news after KTDA first announced a dividend payout of Ksh1.04 billion for the year ended June 30, 2024. This was the highest in the history of its operations.
During that financial year, the company’s earnings went up to Ksh89.21 billion from Ksh68.22 billion.
KTDA Group CEO Wilson Muthaura attributed the enormous growth to the adaptation of technologies by factories, which in turn improved efficiency.
“As management, we are working with factories to increase efficiency and diversify our products. In the wake of climate change, we are also looking to introduce high-yielding teas to ensure that tea production remains sustainable," he observed.
Despite the huge profits, the KTDA has also had to battle with some resistance from a section of farmers, who accused the agency of denying them a chance to have representation on the board. This, according to thousands of farmers, blocked them from direct shareholding.
At the time, farmers were supposed to be allotted five million shares, which would have allowed them to earn dividends directly.
KTDA, however, is keen on maintaining the status quo, which sees farmers own shares in their factories, while factories have shares in KTDA holdings.
