Nairobi, May 7 -- A smaller loss in Ethiopia and M-Pesa's double-digit growth helped Safaricom report a 36.9 percent jump in profits, making the Kenyan unit the first to cross the Sh100 billion mark in earnings.

The telecoms operator's net profit grew to Sh95.6 billion from Sh69.79billion the previous year, allowing it to increase its total dividend payout to Sh80 billion.

The Kenya business continued to be the main profit driver, powered by M-Pesa, the firm's largest unit, which is on course to generate half of the profits.

The profit for the Kenyan unit alone stood at Sh118.3 billion, while its revenues also crossed the Sh400 billion mark for the first time.

Safaricom reported loss in Ethiopia dropped by 35 percent compared to the p...