Safaricom has approved a final dividend of KES 26.04 billion at its 16th Annual General Meeting, bringing its total dividend payout for the year to KES 48.08 billion.
The Nairobi-based firm announced on Thursday that shareholders had approved a final dividend of KES 0.65 per share for the financial year ended 31 March 2024. This follows an interim dividend of KES 0.55 per share paid in March 2024, resulting in a total dividend of KES 1.20 per share for the year.
Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom PLC Group CEO, highlighted the company’s strong performance: “The business displayed significant resilience in producing outstanding growth in both our top and bottom lines. This enabled us to achieve a major milestone, attaining, in our Kenyan business alone, earnings of more than USD1 billion before tax and interest (EBIT).”
Ndegwa noted that Safaricom is the first company in the Eastern Africa region to reach this landmark figure.
The dividend announcement comes against a backdrop of challenging economic conditions in both Kenya and Ethiopia, where Safaricom operates. High interest rates, inflation, and currency fluctuations have impacted disposable income and business operations in both markets.
Despite these headwinds, Adil Khawaja, Chairman of the Board, expressed confidence in the company’s performance: “I am encouraged by the resilience demonstrated to deliver a very strong set of financial results, which enabled us to pay a similar dividend to last year’s despite the startup losses in Ethiopia.”
Safaricom’s expansion into Ethiopia, while currently loss-making, is expected to break even by the end of its fourth year of operations. The company’s new vision and strategy aim to position it as Africa’s leading technology company by 2030.
The final dividend will be payable on or about 31 August 2024 to shareholders on the Register of Members as at the close of business on 31 July 2024.
