Safaricom PLC has approved the payment of an interim dividend to its shareholders for the current 2025/2026 financial year.

In a statement on Thursday, February 5, Safaricom said its Board of Directors formally approved the interim dividend during a meeting held on Wednesday, February 4.

"The Board of Safaricom PLC is pleased to announce that at its meeting held on 4th February 2026, it was resolved to approve the payment of an interim dividend of Kshs. 0.85 per ordinary share for the year ending 31st March 2026," the notice read.

Safaricom explained that the dividend will be paid to shareholders whose names appear on the company’s register by the end of March.

"The interim dividend will be payable to shareholders on the Register of Members as at the close of business on 25th February 2026 and will be paid on or about 31st March 2026," the notice added.

This comes days after Kenya Power and Lighting Company PLC announced a strong financial performance for the half-year ended December 31, 2025, posting a profit after tax of Ksh10.4 billion and declaring an interim dividend of Ksh0.30 per share. 

In its report, the company attributed the improved performance to higher electricity sales, better distribution efficiency, reduced finance costs, and disciplined cost management.

Notably, this is even as power purchase and operating expenses rose due to increased demand and network investments.

In formally releasing the results, the Board of Directors confirmed the company’s overall financial outcome for the period.

"The Board of Directors of the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Plc is pleased to announce the unaudited financial results for the half-year period ended 31 December 2025," the report read.

The company reported a notable increase in profitability before tax, reflecting stronger revenue performance and lower financing costs compared to the previous year.

"In the period under review, the Company recorded a profit before tax of KShs.14.83 billion for the six-month period to 31 December 2025, compared to KShs.14.06 billion reported in the corresponding prior period, representing an increase of KShs.769 million (5.5%). The improved performance is primarily attributed to higher electricity sales and reduced finance costs," the report added.

The report showed that revenue growth was largely driven by increased electricity consumption and improved efficiency in power distribution.

"Revenue from electricity sales increased by 6.9%, from Ksh107.42 billion to Ksh114.87 billion, supported by higher electricity demand and improved distribution efficiency over the two comparative periods. Total electricity unit sales increased by 10.5% to 6,086 GWh, while distribution efficiency improved from 76.35% to 77.97%, reflecting enhanced network performance and loss reduction initiatives," the report further read.

The company acknowledged that higher demand also pushed up the cost of purchasing power.

Additionally, operating expenses also rose during the half-year, with Kenya Power attributing the increase to provisions for credit losses, depreciation, and staffing costs.

"Power purchase costs increased by KShs.5.33 billion, largely driven by higher electricity demand, as total energy purchases increased by 8.3% to 7,807 GWh during the period.

"Operating expenses rose by Ksh1.43 billion, from Ksh23.74 billion to Ksh25.16 billion, primarily driven by higher provisions for expected credit losses following growth in customer debt levels, increased depreciation arising from the capitalisation of completed network projects, and staff-related cost movements," the report indicated.

Kenya Power said it will continue prioritising supply adequacy and loss-reduction initiatives as demand rises, alongside grid modernisation efforts.

"Looking ahead, we will safeguard supply adequacy as demand grows and accelerate our loss reduction programme. We are also advancing our grid modernisation and digitisation projects to improve service reliability and efficiency, enhance customer experience, and support sustainable growth," the report concluded.