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Kenya's leading telco, Safaricom PLC, has posted a 21.7 per cent growth in net earnings for the first six months of the year, with the Group service revenue growing by 14 per cent to hit a half-year high of Sh181.4 billion.
According to the financial results unveiled Thursday morning, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm's comprehensive net profit for the period was Sh36.7 billion.
The Kenyan unit, however, recorded a net profit of Sh47.5 billion, translating to a 14.1 per cent growth.
The group's net earnings could have been more but were hampered by currency devaluation in Ethiopia that saw net earnings drop 17.7 per cent to Sh28.1 billion.
The value of Ethiopia's currency has fallen by 30 per cent against the US dollar after the government relaxed currency restrictions in a bid to secure a loan of $10.7 billion from the International Monetary (IMF) and World Bank.
The strong performance was driven by double-digit growth in the Kenyan unit, where service revenue grew by 12.9 per cent to Sh177 billion, resulting in EBIT and net income growing by 18 per cent to Sh79.2 billion.
"This performance, which comes at a time when we are marking 24 years of connecting and transforming Kenyans’ lives, reflects the relentless execution of our strategy," Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa said.
"We are proud of the value that we have given our customers through the use of technology, and we will continue growing our core business while expanding into new services through our innovative spirit."
