Safaricom profit jumps 7.2pc as total earnings now hit Sh388.7b

Safaricom posted an overall 7.27 per cent growth in profit after tax for the year to March 31, 2025, to Sh45.76 billion, up from Sh42.7 billion previously.

The profit jump was boosted by strong performance in Kenya, where profit grew by 14.88 per cent to Sh95.47 billion from Sh82.65 billion previously, pushing total revenues up to Sh388.7 billion from Sh349 billion reported last year, which, when converted to US dollars, reached $3 billion, a first in the region, according to the telco. 

This is even as the telecommunications firm said it plans to introduce its overdraft facility, Fuliza, in Ethiopia, where its M-Pesa customers grew to 2.4 million as of March this year.

Safaricom reported that its Ethiopia unit, still in its formative stages, contributed 10 per cent to total revenues despite posting a net loss of Sh49.77 billion as operating costs increased to Sh36.2 billion.

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The company, however, said the business has moved past the peak investment phase and is expected to turn to profitability by the 2027 financial year. Safaricom also said that its board had recommended a final dividend of Sh0.65 per ordinary share, which is subject to shareholders at its Annual General Meeting in July this year.

The final dividend, which is in addition to an interim dividend of Sh0.55, will bring the total dividend to Sh1.20 per share for the year.

Total dividend payout will be Sh48.08 billion. The telco said it maintained its dividend payout policy over the past three years despite heavy investments in Ethiopia as well as the depreciation of the birr following foreign exchange reforms.

“Our dividend is similar to last year’s despite the Birr depreciation impact in Ethiopia, which depicts resilient performance for the Group. This was supported by great strategy execution and a resilient economy despite the headwinds faced in the year,” said Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa when the company announced its financial results in Nairobi yesterday.

Chief Finance Officer Dilip Pal said the telco would, in the coming weeks, introduce its hugely successful Fuliza in Ethiopia.

The product allows customers to complete transactions, including sending money, paying for goods, and even withdrawals when they do not have adequate funds in their wallets.

The money is then recovered as a first charge when they top up or receive money on M-Pesa, and last year recorded repayment rates of over 101.5 per cent. Over the last financial year, M-Pesa continued to grow its contribution to the company’s topline, accounting for 41.4 per cent of the revenue in the year to March this year.

M-Pesa revenue grew by 15.2 per cent year on year to Sh161.1 billion, which Safaricom said was on account of increased usage and growth in chargeable transactions.

M-Pesa’s average revenue per user rose by 9.4 per cent to Sh395.22. One-month active customers grew by 10.5 per cent to 35.82 million, while the M-Pesa agent network expanded 14.1 per cent to 298,890.

Voice revenue, which was the mainstay for Safaricom in its early years but has since been overtaken by M-Pesa, grew 1.6 per cent to Sh80.78  billion. Mobile data revenue grew 15.2 per cent to Sh72.86 billion on increased data usage per chargeable subscriber. Mobile Data ARPU grew by 10.1 per cent Sh267.11. 

Fixed service and wholesale transit revenue recorded a growth of 12.9 per cent to Sh17.07 billion. Safaricom Ethiopia generated Sh8.90 billion in service revenue, supported by accelerated growth in customers. The firm more than doubled the customer base to 8.8 million with over 3,141 sites in operation in the country where it started operations in 2022.