NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 7 – Safaricom Group’s net profit fell by 17.7 percent to Sh28.1 billion in the half-year ending September 30, 2024, largely due to the depreciation of Ethiopia’s currency, the Birr.
The Birr lost 106 percent of its value against the dollar, trading at 118.99.
Despite the forex impact, Safaricom CFO Dilip Pal expressed satisfaction with the company’s overall performance in a challenging environment that included currency fluctuations, floods, and economic disruptions.
The Kenyan unit showed resilience, with net profit increasing by 14.1 percent to Sh47.5 billion, driven by a 12.9 percent rise in service revenue to Sh177.5 billion.
Group-wide, service revenue grew by 13.1 percent year-over-year to Sh179.9 billion, supported by M-PESA, mobile data, and fixed data.
Safaricom’s customer base expanded 7.8 percent to 52.01 million, with active monthly users rising 10.8 percent to 39.75 million.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa highlighted the contributions from the mobile connectivity segment—comprising voice, data, and SMS—which made up 52.2 percent of revenue at Sh93.9 billion, while M-PESA contributed 42.9 percent, totaling Sh77.2 billion.
Additionally, the number of pochi tills more than doubled to 869,023, and merchant overdraft customers increased by 72.9 percent to 52,272.
“We’re proud to deliver value through technology and remain committed to growing our core business while exploring new service areas,” Ndegwa said.
