By Editor
Safaricom NSE (SCOM), East Africa’s leading telecommunications company, has announced strong financial results for the year ended March 31, 2026, highlighted by robust revenue growth and a higher dividend payout to shareholders.
Group net income rose to KES 100 billion, driven by continued customer growth, increased uptake of digital services, and strong performance across its core business segments.
As part of its FY26 results, Safaricom announced a dividend payout of KES 2 per share, amounting to a total of KES 80.1 billion, representing a 66.7 percent increase from the previous year. The payout includes an interim dividend of 85 cents per share and a proposed final dividend of KES 1.15 per share, subject to shareholder approval. The company said the payout reflects its strong balance sheet and confidence in long term growth prospects.
“We have shown strong execution in the first year of our five year strategy, signalling a strong foundation for delivering our vision. We recorded impressive performance, with acceleration in the second half, surpassing Group guidance. Outstanding performance in Kenya helped offset the impact of currency reforms and the timing of market repair actions in Ethiopia,” said Peter Ndegwa.
Key highlights:
- Group Service revenue grew by 11.5% to KES 414.1 billion
- Mobile data revenue increased by 18.3% to KES 92.9 billion
- M-PESA revenue grew by 13.4% to KES 182.7 billion
- Safaricom Ethiopia service revenue grew by 86.6% to KES 14.1 billion
During the financial year, Safaricom Kenya’s service revenue grew by 10 percent to KES 400.8 billion, while Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) increased by 15.3 percent to KES 182.3 billion.
The Group’s customer base grew to 71.6 million subscribers, reflecting continued demand for digital connectivity and financial services across the region.
“These results demonstrate a business that continues to show resilience and strong momentum. We sustained solid growth in service revenue, supported by double digit growth in Kenya and accelerated expansion in Ethiopia, while maintaining profitability despite continued investments in Ethiopia,” said Adil Khawaja.
He added that Safaricom was beginning to benefit from economies of scale in Ethiopia, with improving commercial performance and reduced startup costs.
Safaricom Ethiopia maintained its growth trajectory, contributing 12.5 percent to the Group’s service revenue growth during the year. Subscriber numbers in Ethiopia rose to 13.6 million customers, supported by an expanded network now covering 60 percent of the population through 3,504 sites.
M-PESA also continued to record strong growth in Kenya, with 41 million active customers generating KES 182.7 billion in revenue during the period under review.
Guided by its purpose of transforming lives, Safaricom continued investing in social impact programmes across Kenya and Ethiopia. Through the Safaricom and M-PESA Foundations, more than 4.4 million lives were impacted during FY26 through initiatives focused on education, healthcare, and economic empowerment.
“We continue to invest in our network and IT systems to enhance capacity and customer experience. Ethiopia’s performance showed reduced losses compared to the previous period, significantly boosting Group performance.
We now move into the second year of our Vision 2030 strategy with a commitment to sustain our execution momentum,” said Dilip Pal.
