Safaricom has proposed a total dividend of KSh 2.00 per share for FY2026, translating to a payout of KSh 80.13 Bn, the largest corporate dividend declaration in Kenya's history in absolute terms.
- •The proposal breaks a three-year freeze and surpassing the telco's own prior record set in FY2019.
- •The board recommended a final dividend of KSh 1.15 per ordinary share, bringing the full-year total to KSh 2.00 after the KSh 0.85 interim paid in March 2026.
- •Among Kenyan corporates, the next largest FY2025 dividend payouts were KCB at KSh 22.5 Bn and Equity Group at KSh 21.7 Bn, both less than 27% of Safaricom's FY2026 figure.
The final dividend, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM on 31 July 2026, will be payable on or about 4 September 2026 to shareholders on the register at close of business on 4 August 2026.
Safaricom held its dividend flat at KSh 1.20 per share for three consecutive years spanning FY2023, FY2024, and FY2025, as the group absorbed Ethiopia's startup losses and managed cash flows through a period of elevated capital expenditure. The FY2026 declaration of KSh 2.00 represents a 66.7% increase, the sharpest single-year dividend jump since listing, restoring the payout ratio to 83.7% from 69.0% in FY2025.
The earnings base that underpins the dividend is unambiguous. Attributable profit rose 37.0% to KSh 95.61 Bn, a new all-time high for any company in East and Central Africa. Net cash from operating activities reached KSh 169.91 Bn, giving a dividend coverage ratio of 2.12x.
Bigger Than Any Corporate Profit in the Region
At KSh 80.13 Bn, Safaricom's dividend payout exceeds the entire FY2025 profit after tax of Equity Group, East and Central Africa's second most profitable company, which posted a record PAT of KSh 75.5 Bn. It exceeds KCB Group's FY2025 PAT of KSh 68.35 Bn by KSh 11.78 Bn. No other company in the region pays out in dividends what Safaricom earns, let alone what it distributes.
18 Years of Returns
Since listing at KSh 5.00 per share in 2008, Safaricom has declared KSh 694.29 Bn in cumulative dividends, equivalent to KSh 17.33 per share. At May 7th's closing price of KSh 32.10, the capital gain per share stands at KSh 27.10, a 542% appreciation.
Combined, every share held since the IPO has returned KSh 44.43 in capital gains and dividends against a KSh 5.00 entry price, a total return of 889%. A KSh 100,000 investment at IPO is worth KSh 889,000 today, before reinvested dividends.
Chairman Adil Khawaja committed the board to a "resilient, progressive dividend" underpinned by the recently renewed 25-year operating license. With Ethiopia approaching EBITDA breakeven in FY2027 and Kenya's cash generation compounding, the trajectory points in one direction.
