How you helped Safaricom make Sh48 billion profit

A person uses the M-Pesa money transfer service. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• For the richest company in East Africa, money has been coming in from all directions, day and night.
• Kenyans’ love for chatting, transacting business conveniently using their phones, surfing the Internet, betting, catching up and having funky beats as their ringtones has created a behemoth with Sh213 billion in revenue.

By GUCHU NDUNG'U
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Safaricom’s record-breaking Sh48 billion profit announced on Wednesday was not unexpected.

For the richest company in East Africa, money has been coming in from all directions, day and night.

Kenyans’ love for chatting, transacting business conveniently using their phones, surfing the Internet, betting, catching up and having funky beats as their ringtones has created a behemoth with Sh213 billion in revenue.

The company made a profit of Sh48.4 billion in the year to March 2017 from its 28 million subscribers who keep the corporate juggernaut rolling. Notably, many of Safaricom’s peers at the Nairobi Securities Exchange have announced reduced profits, leaving the telco basking in individual glory.

This was a 27 per cent increase from last year. While Safaricom was initially formed as a telecommunications company, calls now constitute only 45.8 per cent of its revenue or Sh93.5 billion.

The rest is from your use of data bundles and charges you pay when using the popular money transfer service M-Pesa. Kenyans send and receive more than Sh15 billion a day.