Safaricom 2020 Dividend: Safaricom shareholders have approved the payout of a mega Sh. 56 billion dividend. The approval was made during the telecommunication firm’s virtual annual general meeting that was held on Thursday.
This dividend is equivalent to Sh. 1.40 per share, which is an increase from the dividend of Sh. 1.25 that was paid in the year ended March 2019.
“As a purpose-driven business, Safaricom has been prioritizing support to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. We hope that the dividends they receive as shareholders will give the much-needed boost for their businesses during this difficult COVID-19 pandemic period even as we come up with ways to ensure we support them post COVID-19,” outgoing Safaricom chairman Nicholas Ng’ang’a said. Mr. Ng’ang’a will be replaced by former Safaricom chief executive officer Michael Joseph.
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The mega dividend pay came after the company posted a 19.5 percent jump in net profit in the year ended March. Safaricom’s net profit for the year jumped 19.54 percent to Sh. 74.7 billion.
This growth was driven by higher revenue from its internet provision business and its financial services business, M-PESA, as well as its first ever drop in operating expenses. This saw its sales rise 4.9 percent to Sh. 265.5 billion while net profit grew to from Sh. 62.49 billion to Sh. 74.7 billion, reflecting a growth of 19.5 percent.
M-Pesa revenue grew by 12.6 percent to Sh. 84.44 billion as mobile data revenue increased by 12.1 percent to Sh. 40.67 billion.
Interestingly, the pay has boosted Safaricom shareholders’ cash flow in the face of the coronavirus crisis. Safaricom 2020 Dividend.