Kenyan mobile telecommunications company Safaricom will invest just under US$272 million in its East African network in the next few months.
This comes after the mobile operator recorded a US$710 million net turnover [KS47.5 billion] at its financial year-end on 31 March.
This represents a 35.7% increase on the previous year's net turnover. Operating profit rose 39.3%, from US$193 million to US$269 million in one year, according to company statistics.
This investment brings Safaricom's total capital investment to US$983 million since its inception in 2002.
CEO Michael Joseph attributes the company's growth to ongoing countrywide network roll-outs, most notably in the rural areas. Safaricom covers around 60% of the population and 27% of the total geographical area.
Safaricom's subscriber base increased from 3.944 million to 6.082 million in 2006/7.
Joseph notes further emphasis will be placed on increasing network coverage in rural areas to help grow subscriber numbers further.
He adds that new products and services introduced during the year, alongside aggressive sales and marketing campaigns, have also attributed to the company's growth.
"The company will further invest money on building up Safaricom's core services," says Joseph.
Safaricom recently introduced BlackBerry wireless voice and data services in a bid to build subscriber numbers in the business sector.
US$60 million [KS4 billion] of Safaricom's US$269 million profit will be paid out in dividends, says Joseph. This is an increase of 33.7% on the US$44 million in dividends paid out in 2005/6.
Government-owned Telkom Kenya has a 60% stake in Safaricom. Vodafone Kenya owns 35% and Mobitlea Ventures holds a 5% stake.
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