M-Pesa breaks Sh100 billion revenue barrier as Safaricom profit hits Sh58.2bn

Safaricom has posted a record-breaking performance from its mobile money business, with M-Pesa bringing in Sh100.1 billion in just six months, as the telecommunications company reported a sharp rise in earnings driven by its Kenyan operations and improving performance in Ethiopia.

The milestone marks the first time the mobile money platform has generated more than Sh100 billion in revenue within a six-month reporting period, following a 13.6 per cent increase in earnings compared with the same period last year.

The growth came alongside a 35.9 per cent jump in Safaricom Group's net earnings to Sh58.2 billion for the half-year ended September 2026, reflecting stronger performance across its business segments.

M-Pesa's contribution highlights the platform's expanding role in Safaricom's operations, particularly as customers increasingly rely on it for commercial payments, financial services and international transactions in addition to sending and receiving money.

M-Pesa transaction volumes surge

M-Pesa handled 27.4 billion transactions during the six months, a 25.2 per cent increase from the previous year's performance.

The value of money exchanged through the platform climbed by 16.6 per cent to Sh23.6 trillion, demonstrating the scale of its use across individual and business transactions.

Safaricom also recorded a 48.2 per cent increase in chargeable transactions, which reached 12.9 billion. These transactions represented 47 per cent of the total activity on the platform, compared with 39.7 per cent a year earlier.

Consumer payments generated the largest share of M-Pesa revenue, bringing in Sh40.8 billion after growing by 14 per cent.

Business payments contributed Sh31 billion, marking a 14.7 per cent increase, while financial services delivered the strongest growth among the major revenue categories.

Revenue from financial services rose by 55.3 per cent to Sh7.1 billion, while global payments earnings increased by 26.6 per cent to Sh2.8 billion.

Withdrawals, however, recorded a slight decline, with revenue falling by 0.5 per cent to Sh18.4 billion.

The changing revenue mix points to the increasing importance of digital payments and financial products in M-Pesa's business, with payments accounting for 75 per cent of the additional revenue recorded during the period.

Business payments, global payments and financial services also accounted for 98.9 per cent of the increase in transaction volumes.

Safaricom Group Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said the company's financial progress was supported by continued growth in Kenya and better commercial performance in Ethiopia.

He singled out the Ethiopian operation, which has been a major focus of the company's expansion strategy since it entered the market in 2022.

“Ethiopia’s sustained growth and commercial momentum brings us closer to our target of achieving EBITDA break-even by the end of this financial year,” Ndegwa said.

His remarks point to the company's ambition to move its Ethiopian business towards financial sustainability after several years of investment in establishing its telecommunications operations in the country.

Safaricom's overall financial performance improved across several key indicators, with group service revenue increasing to Sh226.1 billion.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 27.5 per cent to Sh129.2 billion, while earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 39.8 per cent to Sh91.1 billion.

The increase in operating earnings contributed to the Group's higher net profit of Sh58.2 billion, representing a 35.9 per cent improvement.

Kenya remained the company's biggest earnings contributor, recording net earnings of Sh66.3 billion, an increase of 13.8 per cent.

The local business generated Sh216 billion in service revenue, while EBITDA rose by 13.3 per cent to Sh128.9 billion.

The figures show that the Kenyan market continues to provide the bulk of Safaricom's financial strength as the company pursues growth opportunities outside the country.