This archive report was first published on 31 July 2020.
On Thursday, Safaricom's virtual annual general meeting saw shareholders approve a record Sh. 56 billion dividend payout, equivalent to Sh. 1.40 per share.
This dividend is a significant increase from the Sh. 1.25 paid in the year ended March 2019.
Outgoing Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng'ang'a expressed hope that the dividend would provide a much-needed boost to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic period.
Ng'ang'a will be replaced by former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph.
The dividend payout comes after Safaricom posted a 19.5 percent jump in net profit in the year ended March, with net profit rising to Sh. 74.7 billion.
The growth was driven by higher revenue from internet provision and financial services, as well as a drop in operating expenses.
Mobile data revenue increased by 12.1 percent to Sh. 40.67 billion, while M-Pesa revenue grew by 12.6 percent to Sh. 84.44 billion.
