News
Naspers’ Profit Takes a Dive – Plummeting by R147 Billion
Naspers’s profit dropped by R147 billion. Naspers, one of the largest companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has released its annual financial results, reporting an over 46% decrease in profit from $18.5 billion (R318 billion) to $9.95 billion (R171 billion). According to MyBroadband, sister company Prosus posted a similar performance, with its annual profit decreasing from $18.6 billion (R319 billion) to $10.0 billion (R172 billion).
This poor financial performance was anticipated, as both Naspers and Prosus had warned two weeks ago that they expected a significant decrease in their headline earnings per share, estimating a drop between 74% to 82%.
Naspers, the parent company of Takealot Group and Media24, also holds a stake in Prosus. Prosus, on the other hand, acts as the vehicle for Naspers’s former international investments and has holdings in various companies such as Tencent, Trip.com, and Delivery Hero.
Also read: Vodacom’s Annual Profit Drops 6.4%
While Naspers recorded an increase in revenue from continuing operations, rising from $6.3 billion (R108 billion) to $6.8 billion (R116 billion), its operating losses also grew from $985 million (R16.9 billion) to $1.4 billion (R23.7 billion). The companies attributed their after-tax performance to lower contributions from associates, particularly Tencent, which faced challenges due to Covid-19 lockdowns and new regulations in China.
The operating environment throughout the fiscal year was characterised by significant geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty, according to Naspers and Prosus. They noted that market conditions deteriorated for their e-commerce business in the second half of the year and are currently exiting OLX Autos.
To lessen the impact of the challenging market conditions, the companies used cost-cutting measures, including a 30% reduction in corporate-level workforce costs. They remain committed to achieving consolidated e-commerce profitability in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year. They believe their efforts to drive profits through high-growth areas will deliver long-term value to shareholders.
Also read:
Picture: Twitter / MightiJamie
Follow us on Google News.
