Umeme share sheds 85% value ahead of loss announcement

Kampala, August 5, 2026 - Umeme Limited’s shares have lost about 85 percent of their value since the electricity distributor handed over its concession to the government in March 2025, making the stock one of the worst-performing counters on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The decline has accelerated this year, with the company’s share price falling by nearly three-quarters from 242 shillings at the beginning of 2026 to 63 shillings in last week’s trading.

Before the concession ended on March 31, 2025, the stock was trading at 415 shillings. The sharp drop follows heavy losses recorded in 2025 and the company’s warning that it expects to report another loss for the first half of 2026.

In a notice to shareholders ahead of its annual general meeting later this month, Umeme attributed the expected loss to the cessation of its core business after handing over Uganda’s electricity distribution network to the government at the expiry of its 20-year concession on March 31, 2025. The company says it currently has no operating revenue and is instead relying on the outcome of an international arbitration process to recover additional funds from the government. “The Company continues to actively pursue its outstanding claims against the Government of Uganda through the ongoing dispute resolution process as stipulated in the Privatization Agreements and as notified to the public previously,” the notice states.