Safaricom has reported Sh69.8 billion in net income for
the full-year ending March 31, 2025, as the telco registered double-digit growth
in both mobile money and broadband.
This, as Safaricom Kenya delivered a strong performance with
total revenues hitting Sh381.2 billion, up 11.4 per cent compared to last year.
Earnings before Interest and Taxes in the Kenyan businesses
grew 13 per cent to Sh151 billion.
Group revenue during the period grew by 12.9 per cent to
Sh390.1 billion, despite continued challenges in the Ethiopian business.
“We are extremely pleased with what we have been able to
achieve as a group despite the macro headwinds in the country and a challenging
business environment in Ethiopia. Ethiopia, however, provides an immense
opportunity for our continued growth,” CEO Peter Ndegwa said during an investor
briefing.
According to management, the overall group growth was driven by, among others, customer segmentation, public sector digitisation, investments in new technologies and better use of data and analytics to understand and serve customers better.
Following these results, Safaricom will pay out Sh48.08
billion in dividends to its shareholders for the year, adding a final dividend
of 65 cents per ordinary share to the interim dividend of 55 cents per ordinary
share already paid out.
The strong results were achieved through sustained
innovation across TechCo’s product portfolio, expansion into Ethiopia, and
continued support to communities by investing more than Sh18 billion in
education, health, environment and economic empowerment initiatives over the
last five years.
The reporting period also marked the end of Safaricom’s
five-year strategy cycle, which saw the company transform from a
telecommunication business to a technology company through accelerated
technology adoption and greater focus on digitising Kenya and Ethiopia.
“We have delivered excellent group performance with double-digit growth on both top and bottom line. This strong set of results reflects
the dedication of our teams, the loyalty of our customers, and the strength of
our strategy,” CEO Peter Ndegwa said.
The group Earnings Before Interest and Taxes also reported
an impressive growth of 29.5 per cent to Sh104.1 billion.
Ethiopia contributed almost 10 per cent to the group’s
revenue, with management noting that the business has moved past the peak
investment phase and is expected to turn to profitability by the financial year 2027.
On the subscriber numbers, Safaricom Ethiopia has more than doubled the customer base to 8.8 million with over 3,141 sites in operation.
