South Africa and Kenya corporate earnings season highlights telecom, banking and retail resilience

South African and Kenyan telecom, banking, and retail companies reported resilient earnings for the 2024 financial year, according to corporate disclosures and industry analyses. Despite challenges such as load-shedding and macroeconomic headwinds, firms like MTN Group and Vodacom posted revenue growth driven by increased data usage and financial services, while South African banks maintained strong profitability and capital positions, industry reports showed.

MTN Group reported a 7.1% constant-currency increase in service revenue to 215.5 billion rand for the year ended December 31, 2024, with South African service revenue rising 3.0% despite ongoing load-shedding and macroeconomic challenges, according to company disclosures. The company’s data revenue in South Africa grew 7.6%, supported by a 19.3% increase in data traffic and sustained investment in 4G and 5G networks, underscoring continued demand for digital services. Vodacom Group’s revenue for the year ended March 31, 2024, increased 26.4% to 151 billion rand, with South African service revenue up 3.6%, driven by mobile data and financial services that offset declines in traditional voice revenue, company reports showed. Vodacom’s financial services customer base in South Africa reached approximately 8 million by March 2024, contributing double-digit revenue growth and supporting earnings resilience, officials said.

Safaricom’s financial services customer base in South Africa reached approximately 8 million by March 2024, contributing double-digit revenue growth and supporting earnings resilience, officials said.

In Kenya, Safaricom has expanded its M-PESA mobile money platform into a financial “super-app” serving 37 million monthly active users across the region, significantly boosting transaction and fee-based revenues, according to Safaricom and M-PESA Africa sources. Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, managing director of M-PESA Africa, has led this transformation over the past four years, positioning mobile money and related financial services as key earnings pillars for Safaricom and its regional operations. Safaricom’s strategy of bundling voice, data, and financial services has allowed the company to sustain double-digit growth in M-PESA revenue in recent reporting periods, offsetting slower growth in legacy voice revenue, company statements confirmed. McKinsey & Company highlighted mobile money in East Africa—led by Kenya—as a major driver of payments volume, fee income, and financial inclusion, which supports earnings in telecom-linked financial services.

South African banks maintained strong profitability and capital positions despite economic pressures, according to a joint analysis by McKinsey and EY. The continent’s banking sector generated about $86 billion in revenues in 2022, with South African banks among the most profitable and well-capitalized in Africa. EY’s “South African banking in 2025” outlook noted that leading banks’ return on equity remains in the mid-teens, supported by robust capital ratios and diversified income streams. Key earnings drivers include net interest income, fee income from digital channels, and disciplined cost management amid low economic growth and ongoing load-shedding. Stress-testing conducted by EY showed South African banks maintaining capital adequacy well above regulatory minima, with liquidity and risk management practices that have supported resilience through recent interest rate hikes and credit cycle volatility. McKinsey’s “From potential to performance” study identified South African banks as part of Africa’s “billion-dollar club,” with several institutions generating over $1 billion in annual revenue and contributing to the continent’s total of more than 345 such companies.

Kenyan banks also demonstrated strong performance, with McKinsey reporting return on equity often above 20%, driven by robust retail and small- and medium-sized enterprise lending and accelerated digitization. Kenya hosts several of Africa’s billion-dollar companies, including leading banks that contribute to the continent-wide club with combined revenues exceeding $1 trillion. In February 2026, Absa Kenya announced that Sitoyo Lopokoiyit would join the bank as chief executive for personal and private banking in April 2026, bringing telecom-style digital and customer experience expertise to retail banking. Absa Kenya said Lopokoiyit helped transform the region’s dominant mobile wallet into a financial super-app and aims to leverage this experience to reinvent its retail banking franchise through digital channels, data analytics, and ecosystem partnerships. Kenyan banks have invested heavily in mobile and agency banking, which McKinsey identified as key to sustaining fee and commission income while lowering cost-to-serve and expanding access to unbanked and underbanked populations.

The retail sector in South Africa also showed operational resilience amid challenges. Brand Finance reported that South African retail brands contributed to a 12% increase in the combined value of the country’s top 100 brands, reaching 771 billion rand in 2026. Of the top 100 brands, 82 increased in value, averaging 16% growth, driven by grocery, clothing, and e-commerce chains that defended market share through private-label expansion, loyalty programs, and omni-channel investments. An RMB analysis noted a digital boom in South Africa’s e-commerce market, with online retail growing significantly faster than overall retail sales, supported by improvements in payments, logistics, and consumer adoption. However, a Zawya report warned of rising costs due to retail security failures and organized retail crime, which have created a more complex operating environment and pressured margins despite stable top-line sales. Analysts and industry sources noted that South African retailers have maintained operational resilience through backup power solutions, supply chain optimization, and cost management amid power cuts and weak economic growth.

The Brand Finance Africa 200 2026 report found that Africa’s top 200 brands increased their combined value by 11% to $62.6 billion, driven primarily by strong performance in banking, telecoms, and retail sectors. Banking accounted for 27% of total brand value, telecoms 17%, and retail 13%, highlighting these sectors’ outsized contributions to corporate earnings and brand strength. South Africa and Kenya provide a significant share of the leading African banking and telecom brands, with many delivering double-digit brand value growth, reflecting sustained revenue expansion and investor confidence despite macroeconomic challenges, the report showed. McKinsey’s “From potential to performance” study underscored that Africa’s banking profit pool is concentrated in a handful of markets—chief among them South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt—where corporate earnings in banking and telecoms have proved comparatively more robust.

Structural drivers supporting earnings growth across telecom, banking, and retail include demographics, urbanization, and rising digital adoption, according to McKinsey. The integration of telecom and banking capabilities, exemplified by Safaricom/M-PESA in Kenya and the recruitment of M-PESA leadership into Absa Kenya, demonstrates a trend toward convergence that broadens revenue pools and stabilizes earnings. EY emphasized that South African banks must pursue reinvention through technology, capital allocation, and customer innovation to sustain and grow earnings beyond 2025. Retailers in South Africa are increasingly tied into this ecosystem through digital payments, loyalty platforms, and e-commerce, enabling them to capture data-driven revenue while managing disruptions to physical stores. Case studies of Africa’s fastest-growing companies indicate that many leading firms in telecom, banking, and retail are leveraging technology, regional expansion, and new business models such as platform and ecosystem plays to deliver above-market growth and earnings resilience.