Safaricom PLC net profit grew by Sh75 billion, reflecting 20 per cent growth, as buoyed by M-Pesa and mobile data revenue growth. Voice and SMS suffered a decline on a number of factors including government’s action on betting and gambling firms last year.
M-Pesa rose by 12.6 percent to Sh84 billion while mobile data income jumped up by 12.1 per cent to Sh41 billion as voice calls revenue dropped by 1.4 percent to Sh94 billion. SMS income dropped by 12.3 per cent to Sh18 billion.
The telco giant board has recommended a higher dividend of Sh1.40 per share running to a total of Sh56.09 billion, which is more than Sh6 billion compared to last year
Addressing the meeting, newly appointed Safaricom CEO Mr Peter Ndegwa (pictured) said that his company will focus on M-Pesa, mobile internet, innovations and entry into new markets such as Ethiopia.
In another first, Mr Ndegwa said Safaricom is working with Google to ensure that affordable smartphones are available to at least 1 million low-income consumers paying Sh20 a day, up to a year.