Inside the NSE: Express Kenya (XPRS)

Express Kenya is one of the older names on the exchange. For most of its modern life it was a transport and logistics business: it hauled goods, cleared cargo through ports and airports, and ran warehouses, with depots in towns across Kenya and links to neighbouring countries.

Its owners changed in 2003, when Hector Diniz, the company’s chief executive, bought out its two foreign shareholders, South Africa’s Viamax and Switzerland’s Kuehne + Nagel, the global logistics group. From then on the business was effectively run and controlled by Diniz.

The turning point came in 2011. Express Kenya’s biggest and most profitable contract was moving beer for East African Breweries, worth about KSh2.3 billion a year, and EABL awarded it to rival DHL.

The company’s remaining customers included Toyota Kenya (importing and clearing vehicles), the Central Bank (carrying unfinished currency notes), and a flower grower.

In early 2012 management told staff that its fleet of trailers, warehouses, and workshop had been leased to another logistics firm, SDV Transami, and that employees should take two weeks of leave. The share price, which had been KSh10 in October 2010, hit an all time low of KSh3.50 in January 2012.

The company never recovered its footing, and it has reported losses for the whole of the last decade.

In 2017, Diniz offered to buy out the minority shareholders at KSh5.50 a share and delist the company. An independent adviser, Faida Investment Bank, had valued the shares at KSh14.51 to KSh16.15 each on liquidation value, mostly because of the company’s 15.7 acres in Industrial Area, and key shareholders rejected the offer.

Only holders of 9.78% accepted, which took Diniz’s side from 61.64% to 71.42%, and the company stayed listed. Since then it has tried to become a real estate developer, selling land and converting director loans into equity to fund the shift.

Core Business Lines / Revenue Streams

Express Kenya has three segments, and only one of them is really working at the moment.

Clearing and forwarding, transport, and warehousing (the old business): Moving, clearing, and storing goods for customers by sea and air. This business has been described as dormant and has been replaced in practice by property development. Revenue in 2024 was only KSh26.4 million (down 4%), and in the first half of 2025 it was KSh12.8 million.
Real estate (the new strategy): A mixed use residential and commercial development on the company’s land in Nairobi’s Industrial Area. The company says it made “substantial strides” on this in 2025, but it has stalled before when bank financing failed to come through.
Property holdings: Warehouses, container storage in Mombasa, a cargo facility at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and investment land. These make up most of the company’s book value of KSh472.1 million at the end of 2025.
Land sales: On 4 June 2025, the company agreed to sell three acres for KSh300 million, part of a plan to raise money for the development.

In short, Express Kenya today is a landowner with a stalled logistics business and a development plan, not a trucking company.

Competitive Position in Its Industry

In logistics, the company no longer competes in any meaningful way. The big players, such as DHL and SDV Transami (which leased its fleet), are far larger, and Express Kenya’s revenue has shrunk to a rounding error.

In real estate, the company has no track record as a developer, which analysts noted when it first announced the shift. ‘

A Standard Investment Bank analyst said that if it has no competitive advantage, it must rely on a strategic asset, which in its case is land it already owns.

The results show how far it has fallen. The net loss was KSh107.9 million in 2024 (loss per share of KSh2.26) and widened 16% to KSh125.0 million in 2025 (loss per share of KSh2.62).

In the first half of 2025, it lost KSh42.9 million on revenue of KSh12.8 million. On 15 June 2026, MarketScreener recorded that the auditor had raised a going concern doubt.

Its enterprise value is more than twice its market value, which suggests substantial debt, including loans from the chief executive’s companies.

The positive case rests entirely on the land: the company’s book value is far above its market value (KSh472.1 million against about KSh342.5 million), and the three acre sale for KSh300 million shows what its property can fetch.

Ownership Structure

Express Kenya is controlled by its chief executive through a chain of companies. The top holders as at 31 December 2024 were:

Etcoville Holdings Limited: 44.84%. The company’s parent.
Airport Trade Centre Limited: 13.54%, owned by Diniz.
Diniz Holdings: 12.25%, owned by Diniz.
Paul Wanderi Ndungu: 4.01%.
Saraj Properties Limited: 3.10%.
Hector Robert Diniz: 2.92% personally.
Others: Andrew Musangi (1.46%), Daniel Ndungu (1.20%), Hydery Limited (0.96%), and a Standard Chartered nominee account (0.96%).

MarketScreener puts the free float at only about 12.2%. A Business Daily report noted that rules for the NSE’s Alternative Investment Market Segment require at least 20% of shares to be freely available. There are about 47.7 million shares in issue.

Why It’s Listed on the NSE Specifically

xpress Kenya is on the exchange’s alternative investment segment, and the exchange’s records of its annual reports go back to at least 2003, when Diniz bought control. What is clear is why the listing matters today.

First, the listing gives the controlling shareholder a way to raise money from the existing shareholders without a bank: on 28 May 2026, the directors resolved to offer up to 50 million new shares, one for each share held, at a price to be announced.

That would double the share count to 95.4 million. Second, it exposes the board to minority shareholders, who in 2017 blocked a buyout they considered too cheap, which is a good example of the protection a listing gives. For investors, the stock is a small, illiquid, land backed special situation, not a logistics business.

Current Stock Price

The share closed at about KSh7.18 in late May 2026, when the rights issue was announced (a market value of KSh342.5 million), and MarketScreener showed KSh6.90 in mid June 2026, with a one year range of KSh3.90 to KSh10.

It started 2025 at KSh3.60 and reached KSh5.50 by mid 2025, so it has roughly doubled in the past two years even as results worsened, which reflects the land story and speculation more than operations.

Trading is thin: indicative liquidity over the twelve months to early June 2026 was only about US$146,000 (around KSh18 million).

Share prices move daily. For a live quote, check the NSE’s official market data page or a licensed brokerage platform before making any decisions.

How to Buy Express Kenya Shares

You don’t need to be in Kenya to buy XPRS shares; it can be bought locally or from abroad:

Open a CDS (Central Depository System) account. This is Kenya’s electronic share registry account, required to hold any NSE listed stock. It’s opened through a licensed stockbroker or investment bank.
Choose a licensed NSE stockbroker or investment bank. Examples include firms like Standard Investment Bank, AIB-AXYS Africa, Genghis Capital, and Faida Investment Bank. A full list of licensed trading participants is available on the NSE website.
Fund your trading account via bank transfer, mobile money (M-Pesa is widely supported), or card, depending on the broker.
Place an order for XPRS through the broker’s trading platform, app, or by instructing your broker directly. Because the stock trades thinly, use limit orders.
For non resident and diaspora investors, several online platforms (such as mystocks.africa, which lets you start from as little as USD 10) let you open an account remotely, fund it in USD or your local currency, and buy NSE listed shares like XPRS without needing an in country presence, though you should confirm licensing and custody arrangements before using any platform.
Hold and track. Shares are held electronically in your CDS account. Do not expect dividend income: the company has made losses for a decade and I found no dividend history. A pending rights issue could dilute holders who do not take up their shares, so watch for the pricing announcement.

This profile is for informational and editorial purposes and is not investment advice. Stock prices, especially, change constantly, so always verify current figures with the NSE or a licensed broker before making any investment decision. Other figures reflect the most recent publicly reported data as of 2026 and may change with new financial disclosures. Express Kenya is loss making, has had a going concern warning from its auditor, and trades very thinly.