Safaricom reports higher half-year profit, with M-Pesa revenue driving growth

Reports on Safaricom's half-year results point to higher profit and rising M-Pesa revenue, but the sources do not say why people are searching for M-Pesa.

What happened

Business Daily reports that Safaricom's half-year profit rose 72 percent to Sh50 billion [1]. Sales from its Kenya business rose 11.3 percent to Sh216 billion from Sh194 billion, driven by a surge in M-Pesa revenues over the six months [1]. Reuters reports that Safaricom posted higher first-half profit as Ethiopia losses halved [3]. The Reuters item available to us contains only its headline, so we cannot report further detail from it.

Before the results, analysts forecast stronger earnings as losses from Safaricom's Ethiopian operations narrow. The results were due to open on Thursday, 5 November [2].

Why Kenyans are searching for it

The sources do not explain why people are searching for M-Pesa. They describe Safaricom's results and forecasts and name M-Pesa as a driver of revenue, but they do not tie this to a specific event, price change or service update that would prompt searches.

Key facts

• Half-year profit: up 72 percent to Sh50 billion [1].
• Kenya sales: up 11.3 percent to Sh216 billion from Sh194 billion, driven by M-Pesa revenue [1].
• Previous half-year (HY2026) profit attributable to shareholders: KSh42.78 billion, up 52.1 percent and the highest half-year figure in the company's reported history [2].
• HY2025 shareholder profit: KSh28.12 billion, when Ethiopian challenges weighed on results [2].
• Analyst forecasts for HY2027 shareholder profit range from KSh49.90 billion to KSh57.20 billion, with one forecast of KSh54.32 billion, a 27 percent rise [2].
• Half-year service revenue rose from KSh98.01 billion in HY2017 to KSh199.87 billion in HY2026 [2].

Note on conflicting figures: Business Daily gives a profit of Sh50 billion [1], but the sources do not say which period this covers. The Kenyan Wallstreet gives HY2026 profit as KSh42.78 billion and forecasts HY2027 profit at KSh54.32 billion [2]. The sources do not reconcile these figures.

What to watch

• Whether the full results confirm which period the Sh50 billion profit figure covers.
• Ethiopia's recovery. Kestrel Capital expects Ethiopia to reach EBITDA breakeven only in the second half of FY2028 [2].
• Kenya profit growth. Kestrel expects Kenya's revenue to grow 12.4 percent, but profit after tax to rise just 0.4 percent, partly because temporary cost savings are unlikely to recur [2].
• Further M-Pesa revenue figures, which the reports cite as the main driver of Kenya sales growth [1].

Sources

1. [1] Safaricom half-year profit up 72pc to Sh50 billion - Business Daily
2. [2] Safaricom HY2027: Analysts Forecast 27% Profit Growth | The Kenyan Wallstreet - The Kenyan Wallstreet
3. [3] Kenya's Safaricom posts higher first-half profit as Ethiopia losses halve - Reuters

Compiled by the NairobiCity trend desk from the sources above.