CPF eyes Sh32Bn revenue growth, shrugs off inflation jitters

The County Pension Fund (CPF) is forecasting higher growth margins for the year, casting buoyancy on a rebounding investor confidence that had been disadvantaged from the economic fallout in the just determined general elections and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Speaking at a press conference, the Group’s Director for finance, strategy and Investments, Joseph Rono projected a sharp rebound in the economy for the remainder of 2022, in what he believes will see the group surpass last year’s net revenue it posted for the year ended December 2021.

“Yes, we have felt the impact but from our projections, we don’t see those challenges hugely impacting on our pension side of business, in fact we are inching closer to our target for the year,” noted Rono

The fund is targeting a net earning of Sh 32 Billion for the year 2022, up from Sh27.97 billion it posted last year. The firm returned a Sh19.49 billion in revenue for the year ended December 2020.

The firm is betting big on diversification of its investments to boost this year’s performance having invested in other other assets likely not to be affected by the depreciating value of Shilling such as offshore vehicles and unquoted equities.

During the period under review, the firm’s Laptrust DB Scheme fund value grew to Sh31.8 billion, from Sh31.3 billion in the previous year, a 1.6 percent growth last year. Similarly, Salih, a segregated fund within the County Pension Fund, grew by Sh3.28 billion last year up from Sh2.3 billion in the year earlier.

Inflationary concerns have been dominating the airwaves recently, rising to a fever pitch last month when the overall inflation rate hit 8.5 percent. As a result, the majority of Kenyan households are now pressed to the wall, with the present tough conditions unlikely to let up in the near future.

“Because of the challenges we experienced at the beginning of year, we are projecting to see the inflation concerns still linger, though we are beginning to see some policies being signed in the hope to reverse those concerns,” he said.

The country’s annual inflation rate has been rising on account of many macroeconomic factors including the Covid-19 pandemic but has intensified due to the ongoing European war.

The ensuing effect of rising inflation – which is a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy, has seen a slow growth in consumer spending among Kenyans, with most households opting for cheaper alternatives to the products they were accustomed to.