Listed agricultural firm Sasini recorded a 60 per cent drop in net profit in the year ended September as the harsh drought early in the year saw a sharp devaluation of its coffee and tea bushes. The firm’s net profit dropped to KES391.2mn from KES980.9 a year earlier as gains from valuation of its tea and coffee bushes fell to KES4mn compared to KES628mn in similar period last year. Poor weather—which has resulted in reduced agro production across Kenya—led to lower valuation of tea and coffee bushes. “The results were also adversely affected by the drought experienced during the first three months of 2011 which resulted in a drop in the production of both tea and coffee,” the company said in a statement. The valuation losses wiped out the gains brought home by Kenya’s weak shilling and high tea and coffee prices— which have seen the two commodities post record earnings this year despite drop in volumes. The Tea Board of Kenya (TBK) expects this year’s export earnings from the commodity to increase by nine per cent to KES106bn despite a dip in output to 365mn kilogrammes compared to 2010’s production of 399mn kilogrammes. Sasini’s net profit, excluding gains from valuation of the bushes—stood at KES387mn this year compared to last year’s KES352mn. Its business generated additional cash of KES659mn compared to KES352mn, which left the firm with KES489mn despite paying a fixed loan debt of KES540mn. The company, however, borrowed KES243mn to soften the impact of the loan repayment. This enabled the firm to double its dividend payout to one shilling a share in what is expected to excite investors who have seen the share shrug off the bearish run at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Its share has gained 20 per cent in the past three months to close trading at KES12.80 on Friday. Sasini suffered heavily from the valuation of its bushes compared to its peers Kapchorua Tea and Williamson Tea—which both saw the profits increase in the period to September.