Safaricom Profit Hits Record Sh100 Billion as Ethiopia Business Gains Momentum

KahawaTungu Reporter

7 days ago

Safaricom PLC has posted a record Sh100 billion net income for the financial year ended March 2026, marking a 67.3 per cent jump driven by strong growth in Ethiopia, M-PESA and mobile data services.

Speaking during the company’s FY2025/26 investor briefing, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said the results reflected strong execution across both the Kenyan and Ethiopian markets as the telco continues its transition into a technology-focused business.

Safaricom Kenya crossed the KSh400 billion mark in service revenue for the first time, representing 10 per cent year-on-year growth, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose 15.3 per cent to KSh182 billion. Net income from the Kenyan operation increased 24.7 per cent to KSh119 billion.

The company’s Ethiopia business emerged as a major growth driver during the year, with startup losses reducing by half as service revenue surged 58.3 per cent to KSh14.1 billion. Safaricom Ethiopia’s customer base expanded 54 per cent to 13.6 million users, supported by network coverage reaching 60 per cent of the population.

M-PESA operations in Ethiopia also gained traction, with active customers rising 119.4 per cent year-on-year to 5.2 million, supported by more than 70,000 merchants across the ecosystem.

Read: Safaricom Leads Kenya’s Network Quality Race with 89.72% score

The telco said growing adoption of 4G-enabled devices helped mobile data revenue grow 14.4 per cent to KSh83.4 billion in FY26. Safaricom now has more than 30 million 4G devices on its network, with over half of its customers consuming more than 1GB of data monthly.

Safaricom also highlighted progress in financial inclusion and public sector digitisation. Through its Ziidi platform, over 500,000 retail investors have accessed stock market trading services, while more than two million customers joined structured savings and investment products.

The company further revealed that 29.7 million Kenyans have registered for Universal Health Coverage through digital systems supported by Safaricom, with KSh54 billion disbursed via digital wallets.

Following the strong performance, the board proposed a final dividend of KSh1.15 per share, bringing the total FY26 payout to KSh2.00 per share, a 66.7 per cent increase from the previous year.

Looking ahead, Safaricom said Ethiopia’s capital expenditure will reduce to between KSh6 billion and KSh9 billion in FY27, nearly half of last year’s spending, signaling the business is moving out of its heavy infrastructure investment phase into a more mature stage.