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.
by MARTIN MWITA
