The number of Safaricom Ethiopia’s active subscribers grew to 4.6 million in the quarter ended June, representing additions of about a quarter million clients.
The company, a subsidiary of Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed Safaricom Plc, had 4.35 million 90-day active customers at the end of March.
The performance of the Ethiopian business has been disclosed by Safaricom’s parent firm Vodacom Group Limited in its latest quarterly results.
“Given the early-stage nature of our business in Ethiopia, Safaricom publishes a quarterly update for this market. For the first quarter (ended June 2024), our 90-day customer base in Ethiopia reached 4.6 million … with total sites built up to 2,900,” Vodacom said.
The active subscribers had grown from 2.7 million in the same quarter last year.
Vodacom said that Safaricom is set to post double digit growth in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in the financial year ending March 2025, helped by improved performance in Kenya and peak losses in the startup Ethiopian business.
“As reminders Safaricom has also provided full year (FY) 2025 EBIT guidance for its overall business, Kenya and Ethiopia,” Vodacom’s chief executive Shameel Joosub said in a conference call.
“The midpoint of guidance for the overall business implies 12 percent EBIT growth reflecting another year of good growth in Kenya, and a peak of losses in Ethiopia. This guidance, provides a more constructive outlook for our associate (Safaricom) income in FY2025 compared with FY2024.”
Safaricom reported a net profit of Sh62.9 billion in the year ended March 2024, a slight rise from Sh62.2 billion the year before. The performance captured the loss of Sh42 billion in the Ethiopian subsidiary in which Safaricom holds a 51.67 percent stake.
The losses in Ethiopia are expected to decline from the next financial year and eventually to profitability as the business scales up its operations.
