Safaricom Limited yesterday released its full-year results amid a flurry of commentary from Kenyans on social media. There was something intrinsically similar between the anticipation that surrounded the actual announcement and a lady in her third trimester of pregnancy. And when the results were announced, KES 12.63 billion never sounded so little!
If you haven’t noticed, Safaricom’s net profits have been on the way down. Yes M-PESA is doing better than ever, over KES 50 billion is transacted through the service every month and Safaricom’s revenues are becoming less and less dependent on voice but hey! Even if a company is growing bigger, no one likes lower profits right? If KES 12.63 billion can really be called called lower anything.
Below is a graph showing the trajectory Safaricom’s bottom-line has taken over the last three years:
We here at Pesatalk think they did reasonably pretty well all factors considered. Their increasing costs are expected with any expanding business and the growth of non-voice revenue, specifically that of M-PESA should encourage customers and shareholders alike. Capital expenditure should increase given that the company spent a similar amount on operational expenses in the year. Given the difficult macro conditions, KES 12.63 billion is commendable.
Scangroup CEO Mr Bharat Thakrar had this to say about Safaricom’s results:
@bobcollymore @alykhansatchuCongratulation Bob for your FY Results despite a challenging year. #SafaricomResults @Nzioka0722
— Bharat Thakrar (@bharatthakrar) May 10, 2012