Investors holding shares in Safaricom will see a reduction in their earnings on March 15 this year, with a total pay out of KES 23.03 billion compared to KES 23.4 billion the previous year. This decrease translates to KES 390 million less than what investors received per share a year ago, which was KES 0.58.
Safaricom, a major player in the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) with nearly half of total tradings, declared this In a disclosure notice to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA
“The Board of Safaricom PLC is pleased to announce that at its meeting that was held on 21st February 2024, it was resolved to approve the payment of an interim dividend of KES 0.55 per ordinary share held amounting to KES 23.03 billion,” the notice from the board reads.
The interim dividend will be distributed to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as of the end of business on March 15, 2024. Payment is scheduled to be made around March 31, 2024.
Safaricom has had a bad run in the past two years despite expanding to Ethiopia. Last year, it posted a 22.2 percent decline in net profit for the full year ended March 2023, the third consecutive drop in earnings on heavy capital investments in Ethiopia.
Despite its expansion into Ethiopia, Safaricom has faced challenges over the past two years. In the previous fiscal year ending in March 2023, the company experienced a significant 22.2 percent decrease in net profit, marking the third consecutive year of declining earnings. This has been attributed to substantial capital investments made in Ethiopia.
Profitability stood at KES 52.48 billion, down from KES 67.49 billion posted in the previous period. Safaricom’s share has also been on a downward spiral for almost two years now, dropping over 45 per cent in the past 12 months.
At its peak in mid-2021, when its share price touched an all-time high of KES 44.95, Safaricom accounted for up to 63 per cent of the NSE’s total investor wealth after defying the Covid-19 storm that battered stocks at the market.
Crossing the 50 per cent threshold meant that Safaricom’s market worth exceeded the combined valuation of all the other listed companies. It now accounts for 48 per cent of total trading at the Nairobi bourse.
