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In the second half of the year, the Group made significant progress in delivering its strategic priorities, positioning it well for long-term value creation. The ongoing, open-ended repurchase programme is creating significant value for shareholders, and actions taken in H2 to streamline operations have improved profitability. The Group has increased confidence in achieving its H1 2025 profit ambition while continuing to deliver high growth.
Headlines
o Announcement of the proposed transaction to simplify the Group ownership structure by removing the cross-holding between Naspers and Prosus, allowing open-ended buyback to continue.
o Sustained revenue growth across core segments, well ahead of sector peers o Strong revenue growth of 36% across four core segments of Food Delivery, Classifieds, Payments and Fintech, and Edtech (excluding etail)
- Overall, growth in consolidated E-commerce revenue was 15%, with strong growth in the core segments partially offset by a decline in the Group’s consolidated etail business
o On track towards H1 FY25 profitability target
- Significant steps taken to drive profitability include streamlining operations, cost and headcount reductions and the exit of OLX Autos
- Margin improvement of 6% in H2
- Continued targeted investment in high-growth opportunities
o Open-ended buyback programme unlocked US$29bn in shareholder value from launch to 31 March 2023
- Buyback delivered 5% NAV per share growth
- US$10.5 billion of shares in Naspers and Prosus repurchased
A strengthened and flexible balance sheet provides a strategic advantage
- Central cash of US$15.1bn
- Bolstered by US$4.7bn Meituan share distribution
Bob van Dijk, Group CEO, Prosus and Naspers, commented:
“During the last 12 months, we have made good progress across our strategic objectives. Against a challenging backdrop, the Ecommerce portfolio has performed well, and the open-ended buyback programme is driving improved NAV per share. Today, we announced plans to simplify our ownership structure by removing the cross-holding between Naspers and Prosus, which allows the continuation of the share repurchase programme. There is much more to do, but we are on a good trajectory. We have strong momentum and remain confident in our commitment to achieve profitability in our Ecommerce portfolio during the first half of 2025.”
Simplification of ownership structure
The removal of the cross-holding simplifies the Group and enables the continuation of the share repurchase programme at the Naspers level.
The transaction will be effected by Naspers and Prosus issuing shares to their existing shareholders. Naspers and Prosus will waive their rights to participate in the respective capitalisation issue of new Prosus or Naspers shares. This will result in the following:
- Naspers’s direct ownership in Prosus aligns to its current economic ownership of 43%
- The remaining 57% ownership of Prosus is held by the Prosus free float, consistent with their current economic ownership of Prosus
- No change in Naspers’ voting interest in Prosus of 72%
- Prosus remains a subsidiary of Naspers.
Naspers will remain JSE listed and a South African domiciled and tax resident company. Prosus will remain a controlled foreign company of Naspers for South African tax purposes and retain its listing in the Netherlands. For full details on the Proposed Transaction, please visit our website.
Group performance
Consolidated results for continuing operations, excluding OLX Autos
| FY2023 | FY2022 |
| US$5.9bn | US$5.7bn |
| US$628m | US$579m |
| US$5.7bn | US$5.4bn |
| US$424m | US$376m |
| US$1.4bn | US$991m |
| US$106m | US$216m |
| US$486m | US$521m |
| US$69m | US$65m |
| US$903m | US$686m |
| US$83m | US$46m |
| US$134m | US$84m |
| US$32.4bn | US$34.5bn |
Basil Sgourdos, Group CFO, Prosus and Naspers, commented:
“Naspers is on a firm footing to deliver continued value for shareholders. Our Ecommerce businesses are scaling at pace, with sustained revenue growth well ahead of our peers. During the year, we’ve streamlined our operations and reduced costs. These actions have taken hold, and we’ve reached a turning point in profitability, with iFood’s restaurant business, our Indian payments business and core classifieds all profitable. Our strengthened balance sheet, liquidity and improving free cash flow enable us to continue investing in high growth opportunities and are an advantage in the current environment.”
Robust growth and strong execution across the E-commerce portfolio
Consolidated E-commerce revenue from our four core segments was strong at 36%, partly offset by a tougher trading environment in our etail business to deliver consolidated Group revenue growth of 16% to US$4.9bn. Trading losses in H2 decreased by 43% from H1. The established businesses are all profitable and these losses are a result of targeted investment in high-growth earlier-stage initiatives such as quick commerce and grocery delivery, credit and innovation in our Edtech segment.
Classifieds – OLX Group1: sustained growth and improved profitability in core classifieds
- Core classifieds consolidated revenue grew 15% despite the impact of the Ukraine conflict. Excluding Ukraine, revenues grew 20%.
- Trading profit margin, excluding Ukraine, was 19%, a six percentage point improvement on the prior year.
- In March 2023, a decision was taken to exit the OLX Autos business, with completion expected during FY24.
Food Delivery: Market-leading revenue growth with meaningful improvement in profitability
- iFood’s core restaurant businesses grew Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) by 14% and revenue by 24%, leading to a trading profit of US$94m, with an 8% trading margin.
- Targeted investment in grocery and quick commerce drove a 64% increase in GMV from all new initiatives, with revenue up 475%
- Delivery Hero grew GMV by 18% to €44.6bn on a pro-forma basis and improved adjusted EBITDA margin (as a percentage of GMV) by -1.4% (prior period: -2.9%).
- Swiggy grew GMV by 58%, announcing that its core restaurant business would turn profitable in March 2023.
Payments & Fintech – PayU: Strong overall performance, with Indian Payments Service Provider (PSP) business profitable and significant growth in the Indian credit business
- Consolidated revenue increased 52% to US$903m as Total Payment Volume (TPV) in the core PSP business grew 39%.
- Indian PSP business is profitable, with TPV up 44%.
- Indian credit business grew its loan book by 112%, with revenue up 221%.
- Consolidated trading losses of US$83m were impacted by a one-off provision of US$23m at Global Payments Organisation.
Edtech: Solid growth in majority-owned platforms, with continued investment impacting segment profitability
- Consolidated revenue increased 21% to US$134m with trading losses of US$131m as a result of investment in technology, including AI, and international expansion.
- Stack Overflow grew total bookings by 37% and revenues by 20% and GoodHabitz grew enterprise customers by 18% and revenue by 24%.
Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, South Africa CEO of Naspers, commented:
“Our local businesses continue to grow and innovate, reflecting the evolving consumer needs they fulfil and the immense potential of technology to shape South Africa’s economic landscape. We recognise the important role of private-public collaboration in driving inclusive growth, and we are committed to playing our part by enabling local businesses, supporting supply chains and employment through our South African platforms”.
South African businesses
- Takealot Group grew GMV by 13% and revenue by 12%, with a strong performance at Mr D, where GMV grew 11%, and revenue was up 17%.
- Media24 delivered revenue of US$207 million, with a trading profit of US$5m, despite investment in e-commerce infrastructure.
Naspers Labs: equipping young South Africans with digital skills, job readiness training, and employment opportunities.
- Naspers Labs has trained 3,956 young people in various tech roles such as cyber security, data science, software development and AI, among others.
- Through its extensive network of partners, 3 920 youth have been placed in tech and tech-enabled jobs and supported 33 micro-entrepreneurs. For full details of the Group’s results, please visit www.naspers.com.
Also read:
- Naspers and Prosus shares up 10% after announcing the new attack on discount
- FFM podcast Ep6: Insights from May’s top of the pop; Naspers as a banker; send those questions
- Naspers backs rent-to-buy a car firm in $100m deal
