Britam Holdings reported profit before tax of KES 3.82 billion for the six months to 30 June 2026, up 52% from KES 2.54 billion a year earlier. Profit after tax was KES 2.66 billion, from KES 1.74 billion, and earnings per share rose to KES 1.05 from KES 0.68.
Britam is a financial services group listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. It sells life assurance, general and health insurance, retirement and trust services, asset management, banking and property, and it operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Mozambique and Malawi. We covered the same set of results a year ago, when pre-tax profit came in at KES 2.5 billion against higher claims and a falling yield curve.
Where the profit came from
Insurance revenue grew 13.7% to KES 22.4 billion from KES 19.7 billion. The net insurance service result, which is what the insurance business earns after claims and the costs of servicing policies, improved 36% to KES 1.76 billion from KES 1.29 billion. That line is the scoreboard for underwriting, and it is the part of the business Britam controls directly.
The investment side is less flattering. Interest and dividend income rose to KES 12.0 billion from KES 10.6 billion, which is the figure Britam put in its announcement. Net investment income overall fell 22% to KES 13.42 billion from KES 17.28 billion, because gains on financial assets dropped to KES 1.11 billion from KES 6.24 billion. Britam’s announcement does not mention that fall. Under IFRS 17 much of the return on the life book belongs to policyholders, and the offsetting line moved with it: net insurance finance expenses fell to KES 10.92 billion from KES 15.96 billion.
Total assets reached KES 270.84 billion, up 11% from KES 243.78 billion in December 2025. Total equity was KES 37.57 billion, from KES 35.05 billion.
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The dividend is still missing
This is the first reporting period under ASCEND 2026-2030, the group’s new five-year plan. “These results give us an encouraging start to our ASCEND Strategy,” Group Managing Director and CEO Tom Gitogo said in the release. Britam recommended no interim dividend. It has not paid one since KES 0.25 a share in 2019, which is now seven years of retained earnings with nothing going back to shareholders. The stock closed at KES 18.60 on results day, roughly double where it started the year.
The second half has a deadline in it
Buried in Britam’s list of first-half developments is a digital marine cargo insurance platform, built for the rule that took effect on 1 July 2026. Importers must now buy marine cover from insurers licensed in Kenya and produce an electronic certificate, which passes from an insurer’s portal through the Insurance Regulatory Authority to KRA’s customs system. That business used to go abroad. Britam’s full-year results will show whether it won any of it.
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