M-PESA revenue was up by 19.2 per cent to Sh74.9 billion/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 3rd – Mobile services provider Safaricom has announced a growth in net profit of Sh63.4 billion in its fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2019.
This is an increase of 14.7 per cent rise compared to last year’s Sh45.1 billion. The company was also able to witness its total revenue increase by 7% to Sh240.3 billion during the same period.
Voice service and M-PESA have been the two the largest contributors to the company’s revenue.
The voice revenue growing by 0.3% to Sh95.94 billion as text messaging services revenue however declined by 1.3 per cent to Sh17.5 billion.
M-PESA revenue was up by 19.2 per cent to Sh74.9 billion.
Chief Executive Officer Safaricom Bob Collymore said the improvement in the company’s performance continues to reflect growth even in the months to come.
“We are pleased with the strong results we have for the year, building on our long track record of delivering relevant products and putting the customer first. We foresee continued growth in the future,” he said.
The earnings of mobile data from the listed telecommunication firm increased by 6.4 per cent to Sh38.7 billion while the fixed service revenue grew by 22.7 per cent to Sh8.9 billion.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said the company expects to register growth through the delivery of quality services to its customers.
“Looking ahead, the business will sustain its momentum of investing in the quality of our service and diversification of our revenue portfolio to ensure sustained returns to shareholders,” said Collymore.
This year, the company invested Sh38 billion in infrastructure providing over 91% of Kenya’s population with 4G and 3G coverage and providing 2G coverage to 96% of Kenyans.
It has now announced plans to double its 4g network to cover roughly 80 per cent of the country’s population which will cost Sh36 billion, by 2020.
“For most Kenyans, the mobile phone is often the first and only link to the Internet. By broadening our 4G coverage to almost anyone in the country, we aim to ensure that no one must miss an opportunity or get left out because of lack of access to affordable, quality, high-speed broadband,” said Collymore.
The listed telecommunication firm was the first to roll out a 4G network in Kenya in 2014, and in June 2017, became the first in East Africa to upgrade a section of its 4G network to 4G+.
The 4G network provides customers with speeds of up to 100 Megabits per second with Safaricom’s 4G+ network supporting double the 4G speeds.
