Safaricom Group Plc net profit from the first six months of this year to September has declined by 18pc owing to the currency reforms in Ethiopia.
The telco reported a net profit decline from Ksh 34 billion reported over the same period last year on depreciation of the Ethiopian Birr which impacted its profitability.
“In Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Birr depreciated by 106pc. As of 30 September 2024, the Birr’s value against the US Dollar was 118.99, a significant decrease from 57.69 in June 2024,” said Dilip Pal, Safaricom Group Chief Financial Officer.
The hyperinflation In Ethiopia which is expected to prevail in the second half of the year in has further seen the Safaricom Group slash its full year Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) which rose by 18pc year-on-year to Ksh 79.2 billion.
“In line with the performance momentum in half one and the expected impact of FX regime reforms in Ethiopia and the prevailing macro volatilities, we hereby revise our FY25 Guidance. The revised Group EBIT is expected to be in the range of Ksh 94- 100 billion from the initial guidance of Ksh 103-109 billion,” said Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom Group Chief Executive Officer.
Despite the slowdown in Ethiopia, the group’s Kenyan unit continue to power growth contributing Ksh 177.5 billion of the service revenue which grew 13pc to Ksh 179.9 billion from Ksh 159 billion the firm earned during the period. Service revenue from Safaricom Ethiopia accounted for Ksh 2.6 billion.
Service revenue was powered by M-pesa revenue which grew by 16.6pc to Ksh 77 billion from Ksh 66 billion and voice revenue which grew by 4.5pc to Ksh 40.9 billion from Ksh 39 billion.
The firm also reported a 21.5pc, 8pc and 13.1pc growth in mobile data, SMS and fixed line revenue to Ksh 37.6 billion, Ksh 6.2 billion and Ksh 8.3 billion respectively.
