Turnover for the sister companies Williamson Tea and Kapchorua Tea rose rapidly in the six months ended 30th September 2009. The improvement in sales was attributed to a shortage in world tea supply and the positive effect from favourable exchange rates compared to the previous year. Although the turnover grew considerably, both tea growers recorded mixed results with regards to crop yields during the period. Statistics from the growers indicate that while tea made (sold) by Williamson Tea grew by 17.2% from 4,967,000 kgs to 5,819,000 kgs those of Kapchorua Tea declined 6.4% from 2,696,000 kgs to 2,517,000 kgs.

Williamson Tea realized a 545% rise in net profits from Kshs 33 million to Kshs 222 million (US$3.0 mn), while Kapchorua Tea realized a 240% rise in net profits from Kshs 13 million to Kshs 45 million (US$0.6 mn) in '09. Williamson's EPS grew from Kshs3.75 to Kshs24.18 while that of Kapchorua grew from Kshs3.36 to Kshs11.45 in '09. Despite the good performance the boards of both companies failed to recommend an interim dividend.

The growers expect better weather conditions in the future and a proportional increase in the supply of tea during the second half of the year. Going forward the management (of both companies) remain cautious anticipating a decline in sales and a gain in production costs due to wage, fuel and electricity costs.

According to statistics from the Tea Board of Kenya Kenya, y-o-y growth to June 2009 had seen tea sales prices rise 12.5% from US$2.07 per kg to US$2.40 per kg while tea exported had declined 0.6% from 27,351 metric tonnes to 27,309 metric tonnes (based on 12 month rolling averages). Both tea growers are involved in the cultivation, manufacture and sale of tea and Williamson Tea is the largest shareholder in Kapchorua Tea with an estimated holding of 39.56%.

Shortly after the announcement of the results Williamson Tea shares rose 97% to Kshs169.00 (US$2.25) at the Nairobi Stock Exchange and is currently valued at Kshs1.48 billion (US$19.7 mn).