Safaricom Plc, East Africa's largest telecoms operator, has reported a 36% surge in profit after tax for the first half of its 2027 financial year (H1 FY2027) to $447.8 million (Ksh 58.2 billion), as losses at its Ethiopian operation narrowed by 43% compared with the previous period.

According to financial results released on Thursday, November 5, group service revenue increased by 13.1% to $1.74 billion (Ksh 226.1 billion), largely driven by the Kenyan market. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 27.5% to Ksh 129.2 billion, while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) surged 39.8% to Ksh 91.1 billion.

Voice and Data Fuel Group Growth

Safaricom Group CEO Peter Ndegwa said data revenue grew by 12.2% to Ksh 45.2 billion, while voice revenue followed closely at Ksh 42.2 billion after a 6.2% increase.

As more people take up the internet, the group said active data customers grew 11.6% to 27.9 million, while data usage per user rose 9.4% to 5.3 gigabytes, an indicator of rising consumption among average subscribers. Voice customers jumped 4.1% to 31.4 million, minutes per subscriber surged 11.9% to 231.8, and the average rate per minute dropped 9.5%.

Voice nonetheless remained particularly strong. Despite the 9.5% decline in rates, revenue grew, supported by higher usage and customer growth, with lower pricing driving greater consumption across both voice and data.

M-PESA Anchors the Revenue Mix

Beyond voice and data, Safaricom's revenue was largely powered by M-PESA, its fintech division and the mobile money platform launched in 2007. In the first half of the 2027 financial year, M-PESA revenue jumped 13.6% to Ksh 100.1 billion, translating into a 46.3% share of the group's total revenue. M-PESA contributed 54.7% of the Ksh 22.0 billion increase in service revenue, followed by connectivity at 33.7% and fixed services & IoT at 11.6%.

Kenya Maintains Momentum

In its home market of Kenya, the company sustained growth across all major financial indicators. Service revenue surged 11.3% to Ksh 216.0 billion, EBITDA rose 13.3% to Ksh 128.9 billion, operating profit (EBIT) increased 13.7% to Ksh 101.8 billion, and net profit climbed 13.8% to Ksh 66.3 billion.

Profitability grew faster than revenue, reflecting operating leverage, while operating free cash flow growth of 19.6% outpaced earnings growth, strengthening cash generation.

Ethiopia Losses Narrow Sharply

Safaricom's Ethiopian expansion recorded significant gains alongside steep reductions in operating losses. Service revenue in Ethiopia jumped 71.6% to Ksh 10.6 billion, attributed to mobile data, which surged 90.2% to Ksh 7.9 billion to account for a 74% share of total revenue. Voice revenue grew 20.9% to Ksh 1.7 billion, while fixed services and IoT recorded a 109.7% jump to Ksh 0.2 billion.

Safaricom Ethiopia also cut its losses substantially. Its EBITDA loss narrowed by 96.5% to approximately Ksh 434.4 million, while its operating loss declined by 53.4% to Ksh 11.4 billion.

User Base and Engagement Expand

Operational metrics in Ethiopia demonstrated growth in scale and user engagement across the board. The network's 90-day active customer base expanded 38.4% to reach 15.4 million, while 30-day active users surged 43.4% to 12.2 million. Mobile data customers grew 37.0% to 12.1 million, voice users increased 31.5% to 12.6 million, and M-PESA adoption accelerated by 54.6% to hit 5.2 million subscribers.

In terms of customer monetisation, the 30-day average revenue per user (ARPU) climbed 35.6% to 188 ETB.

Background

Safaricom launched in Ethiopia in 2022, when the government there began opening the tightly controlled economy to foreign competition. The company hopes its presence in Africa's second most populous country will power future growth. The latest results put the Ethiopian operation's expanding customer base, rising M-PESA adoption and narrowing losses alongside Kenya's continued role as the group's primary revenue base.

Primary sources: TechNext24 original report | Mwango Capital on X