Telecommunications giant Safaricom PLC has announced dividends for its shareholders following the release of its financial results for the year ending March 31, 2025.
On Friday, May 9, the group reported a Ksh69.8 billion net income and 11.2% increase in total revenue, reaching Ksh388.7 billion for the period under review.
The net income represented a 10.8 per cent increase compared to the previous financial period.
Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Ndegwa attributed the strong performance to sustained innovation across the company’s product portfolio, expansion into Ethiopia, and impactful investments in community initiatives.
“As the Group results show, we have met the set guidance with Kenya delivering growth across all business units. Ethiopia has accelerated commercial momentum, reaffirming our commitment to transform Ethiopia’s digital future. This performance is attributed to our continued commitment to our Purpose of Transforming Lives and steered by our vision to be Africa’s purpose-led Technology company by year 2030,” said Ndegwa.
“We have delivered excellent group performance with double-digit growth on both top and bottom lines. This strong set of results reflects the dedication of our teams, the loyalty of our customers, and the strength of our strategy.”
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Safaricom to pay Ksh48 billion in dividends
In turn, Safaricom PLC announced it will pay out Ksh48.08 billion in dividends to its shareholders.
This includes a final dividend of 65 cents per ordinary share, in addition to the interim dividend of 55 cents per share already disbursed earlier in the year.
In addition, Safaricom said that the overall 30-day active customers grew by 7.1% to 37.1 million, the highest year-over-year (YoY) growth in 4 years.
The Group also reported a 29.5% increase in Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), rising to Ksh.104.1 billion. Its subsidiary in Ethiopia contributed nearly 10% to total revenue.
Safaricom Ethiopia more than doubled its subscriber base, growing from 4.3 million to 8.8 million customers, and now operates over 3,141 network sites.
“A total of 2.8 million customers are actively using M-PESA services in Ethiopia, transacting over Ksh.20.6 billion over the year in review,” the company said on Friday.
M-Pesa revenue
Service revenue in Kenya on the other hand grew by 10.5% to Ksh364.3 billion, driven significantly by M-PESA, which celebrated its 18th anniversary last year.
The mobile money service reported revenue of Ksh161 billion, representing 44.2% of Kenya’s service revenue.
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The platform’s expansion beyond traditional payments into wealth management and credit solutions resulted in a 15.2% year-on-year revenue increase.
One-month active M-PESA customers grew by 3.4 million customers in the year, a double-digit growth of 10.5% year-over year.
Also in Kenya, Safaricom’s service revenue grew by 10.5% to Ksh364.3 billion, driven by continued demand for mobile and data services.
The company’s connectivity business in the country grew by 6.5% to Ksh185.2 billion, with mobile data revenue increasing by 15.2% to Ksh72.9 billion, fueled by greater adoption of 4G technology.
Over the last five years, Safaricom has invested more than Ksh18 billion in education, health, environment, and economic empowerment initiatives.
The reporting period also marked the conclusion of the company’s five-year strategy cycle, during which it transformed from a telecommunications firm into a technology company through accelerated technology adoption and a stronger focus on digitising Kenya and Ethiopia.
Safaricom’s operations in the country are expected to become profitable by the 2027 financial year, following a successful increase in the customer base to 8.8 million, alongside the deployment of over 3,141 sites.
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