Not for the faint-hearted. And worth picking up when the prices fall [due to low tea prices or low production] ... unlike small-scale farmers, WTK/KTC can afford to maintain their bushes, replant/replace old bushes and conduct R+D for future growth.

Now hoping it falls towards 200/-... The biggest threat is not low tea prices but land grab by the politicians.

I'm in agreeement @VVS about the achingly long time it takes for what should be a simple process of verification. I almost gave up on this bonus issue until eagle-eyed @pesanane posted the approval on another thread.

Why is such approval needed in the first place? If I may dust off my old company law books: since bonus shares are meant to be paid for out of reserves not distributed as dividends, the reason for CMA approval is presumably to ensure that a company does not issue such shares based on inaccurately stated accounts (I have HAFR, Uchumi and EAPC's adventurous accounting in mind) and do not result in unlawful changes in share capital. The consequences can be quite severe in such a scenario since in at least one case a court invalidated the contract to allot bonus shares because the company had insufficient profits to 'pay' for the bonus shares.

I doubt the toothless CMA would do much if shares are incorrectly allotted but in theory the rule makes sense so that bonus shares are not wrongly alloted then messily 'retrieved' by court order. It shouldn't take such a long wait though IMHO.

Indeed a bonus issue is probably just a share split with a better set of clothes.

But even if as a shareholder I'm not one cent better off, in this bear run the psychological 'gain' of seeing my shares multiply is all I have to cling to!

Williamson was the best performer in my portfolio last year- the rest (Unga, DTB, KPLC and KK) were either flat or gave me heartburn.

Without counting the Time Value of Money, and a possible 40/- dividend for FY 2015-16, Williamson has been one of my best payback via dividends.

50/- after selling Williamson House.
40/- last year after a bumper harvest + low CAPEX
For 2015-16, I expect low CAPEX [no need to spend on the farm to build or buy what idiots might burn down] & a high payout approx 40/-

@vvs looking to load up on some wtk or kapc. What'll be the effect of the bonus isssue on share price?

KPLC generates a lot of cash but I feel there a need for an extensive audit of all the assets on its books. I see it as a 'Bond' rather than an equity play in the long term.

Williamson - The issue about their properties will not be sorted out by 2017 the way our slow court system works.

Damn! I wish I had sold mine. I missed the boat. 13,000+ shares sold x 180 [50% of 360] = a lot of mullah!

Though the bulk were sold at 319. Lucky seller. I think the buyers may have been foreign buyers not wanjiku.

I would like to pick up some WTK stock ahead of the financials announcement.

This would be my first share purchase so I just wanted to confirm if I acquired some today, I'm I eligible for the dividend payout for this years earnings?

Or rather, upto what date do I have to purchase to be eligible for a dividend payout of this year

I expect really positive returns from this company plus maybe a generous dividend issue which will lead to a rally of the share price upwards. I find the 175 to be a nice bargain