Safaricom's Book Value Drops by KSh 111.7bn

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Kenyan Wall Street
May 12, 2025

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What's Inside

Safaricom’s Equity Drops by KSh 111bn as Ethiopia Devaluation Bites

Safaricom PLC has posted a net profit of KSh 69.8 billion and maintained a KSh 48.08B dividend, but its total equity fell by KSh 111.7B (–33.3%), from KSh 335.7B in FY2024 to KSh 224.0B in FY2025, the biggest drop in its history.

The core Kenyan business showed healthy growth across key revenue streams:

  • Net income (Kenya only): KSh 95.5B (+12.7%)

  • Group Profit After Tax: KSh 45.76B

  • Profit Attributable to Shareholders: KSh 69.8B

  • M-PESA revenue: KSh 161.1B (+15.2%)

  • Mobile data revenue: KSh 72.9B (+15.2%)

The answer lies in a KSh 153.8B foreign exchange translation loss from Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia (STE). This is a consolidated subsidiary. According to international accounting standards (IAS 21 and IAS 29), the group must translate the value of foreign assets and reserves into Kenya shillings.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, the Ethiopian Birr weakened from 2.2 to 0.98 per KSh. As a result, the value of STE’s assets in Kenyan shillings dropped significantly.

Read the whole story here.

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