Safaricom share price hits new ceiling

Leading telecoms provider Safaricom saw its share price set yet another new high at the close of trading on Monday.

This on the back of news that its recently garnered Ethiopia operating license will include mobile financial services, clearing the way for the expansion of its platform M-Pesa into the country.

Safaricom’s share price neared the Ksh.43 mark having been quoted at Ksh.42.95, its highest valuation ever.

This to beat its most recent peak at Ksh.42.80 which was posted on July 26.

The licensing for its mobile-money platform M-Pesa is expected to follow the granting of a second telecoms operating license by the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) whose bidding opened last week.

Safaricom has continued to break new share price highs this year on positive investor news including its initial Ethiopia telecoms license win and the payment of a first ever interim dividend in February this year.

Last week, the telco’s shareholders approved its Ethiopia entry ahead of the start of commercial operations in the country in January.

Meanwhile, Safaricom continues to anchor the recovery of the equities on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the year to date.

In the last 12 months, Safaricom has posted returns of 55.1 per cent to shareholders while its gains in the year so far stand at 25.4 per cent.

The stock posted back to back gains across 2019 and 2020 reversing a rare 17 per cent tumble in 2018.

On Monday, Safaricom’s stock represented 80 per cent of equity deals on the NSE by posting a turnover of Ksh.669.4 million with 15.6 million shares traded on its counter.

According to data from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) covering the second quarter to the end of June this year, Safaricom boasts a market concentration rate of 67.5 per cent with a market cap of Ksh.1.638 trillion.