Safaricom’s half year profit to September 2024 has fallen by 17.7 percent to Sh28.1 billion from Sh34.1 billion due to the depreciation of the Ethiopian currency, the birr.
The telco took a Sh17.5 billion hit after the birr depreciated by 51.5 percent over the period under review, forcing Safaricom to revalue its liabilities including foreign currency borrowings and lease agreements.
Safaricom’s underlying business, including its Kenyan operations, has, however, offset the decline from the currency hit, with service revenues up 12.9 percent to Sh177.5 billion in the six months.
M-Pesa revenues improved to Sh77.2 billion from Sh73.7 billion on improved customer usage.
Connectivity revenues, which include voice, mobile data and fixed data, grew to Sh91.3 billion from Sh90.8 billion.
The growth in the connectivity business was also anchored on improved usage and average revenue per customer (APRU), despite the telco’s move to consolidate the cost of its services through bundling.
Safaricom Plc chief executive officer, Peter Ndegwa, says the performance remains strong amid the headwinds in the Ethiopian business.
“On an underlying basis our business is fantastic with the show of real, strong momentum in Kenya. Most importantly we are proud of the value we have been able to offer to our customers,” he said.
“We will continue simplifying our customer journeys and will intensify our focus on new growth areas to continue our momentum in the second half of the year.”
The currency hit in Ethiopia has seen Safaricom revise its break-even year target to the financial year ending in March 2027, from the initial four-year target of March 2026.
