M-Pesa crosses Sh100bn revenue as Safaricom profits jump to Sh58.2bn in H1

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Safaricom’s mobile money business, M-Pesa, has crossed the Sh100 billion revenue mark for the first time in a half-year period, underscoring its growing contribution to the telecommunications group’s earnings.

This as the company strengthens its grip on Kenya’s digital payments market.

The milestone came as Safaricom Group’s net earnings rose 35.9 per cent to Sh58.2 billion in the six months to September 2026, supported by stronger performance in Kenya and a sharp reduction in losses at its Ethiopian subsidiary.

Group service revenue increased 11.3 per cent to Sh226.1 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 27.5 per cent to Sh129.2 billion.

Operating profit, measured by earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), climbed 39.8 per cent to Sh91.1 billion.

The results highlights the increasing importance of mobile financial services to Safaricom’s profitability, even as traditional telecommunications services remain a significant source of income.

M-Pesa generated Sh100.1 billion in revenue, representing 13.6 per cent growth from the corresponding period last year.

Its performance reflects the continued expansion of digital payments beyond person-to-person transfers into business transactions, international payments and financial services.

The scale of M-Pesa’s contribution is also reflected in transaction activity.

The platform processed 27.4 billion transactions, a 25.2 per cent increase, with their combined value rising 16.6 per cent to Sh23.6 trillion.

Chargeable transactions increased 48.2 per cent to 12.9 billion, accounting for 47 per cent of total transaction volumes, up from 39.7 per cent a year earlier.

Consumer payments remained the largest revenue contributor, generating Sh40.8 billion, up 14 per cent, while business payments increased 14.7 per cent to Sh31 billion.

Financial services recorded the strongest growth, surging 55.3 per cent to Sh7.1 billion, while global payments rose 26.6 per cent to Sh2.8 billion.

Withdrawals, however, declined marginally by 0.5 per cent to Sh18.4 billion.

Payments accounted for 75 per cent of incremental M-Pesa revenue, while business payments, global payments and financial services contributed 98.9 per cent of incremental transaction volumes.

In Kenya, the telecommunications business remained the group’s main profit engine, with net earnings increasing 13.8 per cent to Sh66.3 billion.

Service revenue grew to Sh216 billion, while EBITDA rose 13.3 per cent to Sh128.9 billion.

Safaricom’s Ethiopian operation also made significant progress towards profitability, narrowing its net loss by 43.2 per cent to Sh8.8 billion.

Service revenue in Ethiopia surged 71.6 per cent to Sh10.6 billion, while its EBITDA loss narrowed 96.5 per cent to Sh400 million. The EBIT loss reduced 53.4 per cent to Sh11.4 billion.

The improvement is significant for the group, which has invested heavily in establishing its presence in Ethiopia since entering the market in 2022.

The subsidiary’s narrowing losses are increasingly reducing the financial burden of its expansion on the group’s overall earnings.

Safaricom chief executive Peter Ndegwa attributed the stronger operating performance partly to reduced start-up losses in Ethiopia and continued growth in Kenya.