By Peter Ochieng
Mobile telecommunications operators, Safaricom and Airtel have released results for the year ended 31st March, 2024.
Accordingly, Safaricom’s net earnings for the year ended March 31, 2024, dropped by 18 percent.
The earnings stood at Sh42.6 billion by March 31, compared to Sh52.4 billion posted over the same period last year.
The drop was attributed to what the firm termed as tough operating environment during the year under review.
On the other hand, Safaricom’s main competitor Airtel has announced a growth in customer base by 9.0% to 152.7 million across Africa.
The firm said mobile money subscriber growth of 20.7% reflects its continued investment into distribution to drive increased financial inclusion across markets.
Airtel’s revenue in constant currency grew by 20.9% with growth accelerating to 23.1% during the period under review.
Across the group, mobile services revenue grew by 19.4% in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.9% and data revenue growth of 29.2%. Mobile Money revenue grew by 32.8% in constant currency, with a continued strong performance in East Africa.
Loss after tax was $89m, primarily impacted by significant foreign exchange headwinds, resulting in a $549m exceptional loss net of tax.
Olusegun Ogunsanya, Airtel Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) speaking on the trading update said:
“The consistent deployment of our ‘Win with’ strategy supported the acceleration in constant currency revenue growth over the recent quarters which has reduced the impact of currency headwinds faced across most of our markets. This strong revenue performance is a reflection not only of the opportunity that is inherent across our markets, but also the resilience of our affordable offerings despite the inflationary pressure many of our customers have experienced.”
He added that the growth opportunity that exists across their markets remains compelling.
