Nairobi, Kenya — Longhorn Publishers (Plc) has recorded a 37.1 per cent growth in profit for the year ended June 30, 2018, buoyed by the company's four year strategic plan initiated in 2015.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange listed publisher has posted a Ksh183.6 million net profit for the year, up from Ksh133.9 million reported the previous year.
Turnover grew 17 per cent to close at Ksh1.69 billion against the previous years' turnover of Ksh1.45 billion, as the company reduced its distribution costs by about 20.5 per cent.
Speaking to journalists, Group Managing Director, Simon Ngigi, attributed the growth to the successful implementation of the company's 2015-2018 strategic plan which focused on product diversification, entry into new markets and growth of the digital offering.
The performance was further bolstered by savings achieved through improving the Group's operational efficiencies, which resulted in the growth of operating margin from 16 per cent to 21 per cent.
During the year, the company reduced its distribution costs to Ksh134.6 million, down from Ksh169.4 million the previous year.
The Company's liquidity position remains strong, having recorded a 76 per cent improvement in the net cash generated from the Group's operations.
Its total assets closed at Ksh2.4 billion, a 33.3 per cent growth from Ksh1.8 billion last year.
According to the management, Longhorn Publishers Limited continues to invest heavily towards growing and improving its digital platforms and its dedicated in-house digital publishing team.
It has been working hard to improve the user experience on the digital platform so as to provide seamless digital solutions to Longhorn's digital customers.
The Company's investment in the checktag verification (a system that allows customers to verify whether the book they have bought is a genuine Longhorn book by sending an sms containing the chektag code to 22776 for free) has helped seal revenue loss from book piracy.
However, the Group MD maintained that piracy remains a significant industry challenge that robs not only the company of revenues, but also the author of his income due to loss of intellectual property.
He said Longhorn continues to work with Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) and the government to eradicate the piracy scourge.
With the roll out of the Competency Based Curriculum at the beginning of 2018, Longhorn Publishers has been able to develop several books that have been approved by Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and for use in schools across the country.
As part of the 2017-18 success story, Longhorn Publishers Ltd was able to have two of its creative works - Blossoms of the Savannah and Inheritance approved as set books for the teaching of literature in secondary schools across the country.
Ngigi stressed that as Longhorn embarks on a new strategic plan for the period 2018-2021, it will increase its focus on growing its digital products and expanding into new territories within Southern Africa and Francophone territories by offering innovative country-specific learning solutions.
