Safaricom Plc has reduced its losses in Ethiopia to 13.3 billion Kenyan shillings
November 7th 2025
Safaricom Plc has sharply reduced its losses in Ethiopia to 13.3 billion Kenyan shillings in the six months ending September, from 28.2 billion shillings a year earlier, as the operator deepens its foothold in one of Africa’s largest untapped telecom markets.
The company’s Ethiopian arm, Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia Plc, almost doubled its customer base to 11.1 million during the period, signalling strong growth momentum. Group net income rose 52 percent to 42.8 billion shillings (331.3 million US dollars), supported by improving performance in both Kenya and Ethiopia.
Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said that Ethiopia held significant potential and emphasized the company’s long-term commitment to the market. He added that Safaricom was actively engaging with the government and key stakeholders to address challenges stemming from recent currency reforms, which he described as essential for building a sustainable telecom industry.
Despite the progress, the operator recently said its Ethiopian operation’s break-even point has been revised to fiscal year 2027, a year later than previously projected. The extension reflects the impact of Ethiopia’s currency depreciation and ongoing foreign exchange reforms, which have raised operational costs.
The company expects losses in Ethiopia to continue narrowing, projecting an earnings-before-interest-and-tax (EBIT) loss of between 23 billion and 26 billion shillings for the year ending March 2026. Safaricom added that revenue from Ethiopia has grown by more than 60 percent year-on-year, underpinned by increased mobile data and voice usage.
Analysts described the reduced losses as a key milestone in Safaricom’s regional strategy. Wesley Manambo, senior research associate at Standard Investment Bank in Nairobi, noted that the significant decline in Ethiopian losses, combined with strong performance in Kenya, had boosted the company’s overall profitability.
Mauritius-based Axys Investment Partners noted that Ethiopia remains Safaricom’s key long-term growth driver, citing its 120 million population and relatively low mobile and internet penetration as presenting significant room for expansion.
Safaricom’s share price has gained nearly 75 percent since the start of the year, closing Wednesday at 29.90 shillings. Analysts at ICEA Lion Asset Management expect the strong half-year results and narrowing Ethiopian losses to further boost investor sentiment.
Safaricom began operations in Ethiopia in 2022 after ending Ethio Telecom’s monopoly. The company has since expanded network coverage across major regions and is preparing to scale up mobile money services as part of its plan to achieve profitability by 2027.
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