Safaricom saw net income increase by 5.4% to KES 72.35 billion for Safaricom Kenya and declined 1.7% to KES 67.50 billion due to the impact of KES 4.66 billion financing costs for its Ethiopia operation for its full-year results for the fiscal years 2021-2022.
The giant telco also recorded M-Pesa revenues of KES 107.69 billion, mobile data revenues of KES 48.44 billion from its total customer base of 42.44 million and 1 month active mobile data customers of 25.22 million.
According to Safaricom CEO Mr Peter Ndegwa, during the announcement of the Full Year 2021/2022 results on 12th May which saw net income
increase by 5.4% to KES 72.35 billion for Safaricom Kenya and declined 1.7% to KES 67.50 billion including the impact of KES 4.66 Billion financing costs for the Ethiopia business. Safaricom Ethiopia plans to bring mobile financial services to Ethiopia, however, that is subject to the licensing and regulatory process by the Government of Ethiopia.
Safaricom increased its Service Revenue by 12.3% to KES 281.11 billion and Earnings before Interest and Tax (EBIT) by 13.5% to KES 109.13 billion. In the same period, Safaricom’s Voice service revenue grew by 0.8% to KES 83.21 billion while mobile data revenue grew by 8.1% to KES 48.44 billion. Safaricom also announced that its M-PESA revenue grew by 30.3% to KES 107.69 billion.
Safaricom continued focus on customers led to a 6.4% increase to 42.44 Million in one month active subscribers for the period, with customers growing across all revenue streams. Safaricom invested over KES 39.34 billion in Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) in Kenya to maintain and expand the network and ensure Kenyans enjoy reliable network coverage and uninterrupted data services. Safaricom Plc also invested KES 10.44 billion in Ethiopia as we fast track our network rollout plans. This brings the total CAPEX spend for the year under review to KES 49.78 billion a 42.4% increase from last year. M-PESA, which marked its 15th anniversary this year, hit the 30 million active customer mark in Kenya.
Safaricom also saw a 63.4% growth of Lipa Na M-PESA merchants to just below 500,000. M-PESA now has over 3.2 million businesses accepting payments under its portfolio, while the M-PESA business app has about 100,000 active businesses.
In readiness for the commercial launch, Safaricom Ethiopia has recruited a team of over 300 staff, of which 50% is local talent, with plans of reaching 1,000 in the next financial year. The business also has onboarded distributors, secured four retail shop locations and set up the first outsourced call centre in Addis Ababa.
Safaricom Ethiopia has secured approvals for towers development, built two data centres, made the first test call, sent out the first test SMS and completed the first data session.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Service Revenue +12.3% to KES 281.11Bn.
Voice revenue +0.8% to KES 83.21Bn
M-PESA revenue +30.3% to KES 107.69Bn.
Mobile data revenue +8.1% to KES 48.44Bn.
Total customer base +6.4% to 42.44Mn.
One-month active M-PESA customers +7.8% to 30.53Mn.
One-month active mobile data customers +6.1% to 25.22Mn
Strong financial performance
EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) +13.5% to KES 109.13Bn.
Net Income
1. Safaricom Plc Kenya excluding Ethiopia Financing Costs (KES 4.66Bn), +12.1% to KES 77.01Bn
2. Safaricom Plc Kenya, +5.4% to KES 72.35Bn
3. Free Cash Flow -1.3% to KES 63.67Bn.