Safaricom has announced a 14.3 percent increase in profits after tax to Ksh71.7 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2020.
Safaricom recorded a service revenue growth of 4.8 percent to Ksh251.22 billion as at March March 31, 2020 from Ksh239.77 billion driven by sustained customer growth, mobile data growth returning to double digit along with sustained M-Pesa and fixed data growth.
Announcing the results today, the telco said the growth was partially offset by COVID-19 response and a contraction of betting industry.
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Safaricom recorded a customer base growth of 12.2 percent to 35.6 million as at 31 March 2020.
M-Pesa one month active customers increased 10.0 percent to 24.9 million while mobile data one month active chargeable customers increased 10.2 percent year-on-year to 19.6 million.
M-Pesa grew by 12.6 percent. On an underlying basis, excluding the impact of betting and COVID-19 response, M-Pesa grew 17.2 percent.
Capital expenditure in the network for the year under review stood at Ksh36.10 billion.
The telco proposed dividend for the year under review at Ksh56.09 billion. The proposed dividend per share (DPS) of Ksh1.40 has been computed at 80 percent of the profit and total comprehensive
income for the year.
Voice and messaging revenue recorded a blended decline of 3.3 percent, partly driven by competitive pressures and migration to newer technologies, and partly by the impact of corrective actions taken last year to make it easier for customers to manage their premium rate subscriptions, or opt out. Voice and messaging account for 44.4 percent of service revenue.
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Safaricom customers on average are now using more than 1GB per month, which achieved the telco a growth of 12.1 percent for the year. Mobile data now accounts for 16.2 percent of Service Revenue. Growth in mobile data was driven by increased smartphone penetration and usage and a 28.3 percent reduction in effective rate per MB.
During the year under review, Safaricom fully acquired M-pesa, product development and support services from Vodafone Plc through a newly-created joint venture between Safaricom and Vodacom.
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