Safaricom’s service revenue grew 4.8 per cent for the year ended March 31, to Sh251.2 billion compared to Sh239.8 billion the previous year.
Earnings before interest and taxes grew 13.5 per cent to Sh101 billion compared to Sh89 billion the previous year. Headlines earnings per share grew 14.3 per cent to Sh1.78
M-Pesa now accounts for 33.6 per cent of the firm’s earnings, second after voice calls which contributed 34.5 per cent of Safaricom’s service revenue.
M-Pesa revenue grew by 12.6 per cent to Sh84.44 billion while voice service (incoming and outgoing) revenue dropped 1.4 per cent to Sh94.45 billion during the period under review.
“Revenue growth for the year was driven by a strong performance on M-Pesa and a strong performance on mobile data,” Safaricom chief financial officer Sateesh Kamath said.
He added that this was offset partially by declines in the betting industry which were in line with expectations.
Growth in mobile data revenue in the second half was 21 per cent, largely driven by the introduction of the non-expiry bundle offers which now account 40 per cent of mobile data revenue.
The telco is looking to monetise further on fibre to buildings in the coming year.
The telco whose contributions towards coronavirus are currently valued at Sh6.5 billion appealed to the government that the regulatory environment that follows Covid-19 be designed to support the revival of businesses and the return to growth.
"The national and county government need to find innovative ways to balance revenue maximisation and at the same time boost business recovery and growth," Safaricom board chairman Nicholas Ng'ang'a said.
