Kenya Safaricom's FY23 earnings pressured by Ethiopia costs

NAIROBI (Reuters) -Kenyan telecoms operator Safaricom reported on Thursday a drop of 22% in group core earnings for the year to the end of March, as the cost of starting operations in Ethiopia piled on pressure.

The group, which is part owned by South Africa's Vodacom and Britain's Vodafone, said its earnings before interest and tax were 84.99 billion shillings ($622.64 million), down 22% from the previous year.

It expects core earnings to come in at 75-81 billion shillings this year, Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa told an investor briefing, as the roll-out costs of the Ethiopia network continue to exert a toll.

Safaricom has secured 2.1 million active customers in Ethiopia since launch last year, he said, and the company expects to launch its mobile financial services in that market this quarter after securing the license from the central bank.

"We have paid $150 million to acquire the license," Ndegwa said.

($1=136.5000 Kenyan shillings)

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)