Naspers, a global internet and entertainment group, has released its interim results for the six months ended 30 September 2023. The company reported a significant decrease in trading losses and a notable increase in bottom-line profit compared to the previous year.
According to the interim results, Naspers’ trading losses decreased by approximately R4.48 billion year-on-year, from $365 million (R6.78 billion) in 2022 to $124 million (R2.3 billion) in 2023. On the other hand, the company’s bottom-line profit grew by approximately 35% from $2.47 billion (R45.9 billion) to $3.34 billion (R62 billion).
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The improved financial performance can be attributed to the growth in revenue from Naspers’ classifieds, food delivery, payments, and fintech segments. During the period, the company’s revenue surpassed $3 billion (R55.72 billion).
It is important to note that the bottom-line profit figure is higher than the company’s total revenue for the period due to the disposal of assets.
Gains on partial disposal of equity-accounted investment totaled R2.86 billion (R53.1 billion), and the share of equity-account results was $1.1 billion (R20.4 billion). This can be attributed to Naspers selling Tencent shares to fund a share buyback scheme.
Naspers’ e-commerce segment experienced growth during the period. Consolidated revenue increased from $2.7 billion (R50.1 billion) in September 2022 to $2.9 billion (R53.8 billion) in September 2023.
Additionally, trading losses in the segment decreased significantly, from $270 million (R5 billion) in the previous year to $38 million (R705 million) in September 2023.
The company’s consolidated food delivery business, which includes Delivery Hero and Swiggy, saw revenue grow to $679 million (R12.6 billion). The core food-delivery business was a key driver of this growth, with total gross merchandise value increasing by approximately 23% during the period.
Naspers’ classifieds segment also delivered a strong performance, with sustained growth and improved profitability. Consolidated revenue for the classifieds segment grew by 38% to $342 million (R6.4 billion).
This growth was supported by the European auto verticals and OLX horizontals, which grew by 46% and 30% respectively. Naspers highlighted that its OLX Europe classifieds business remains one of the fastest-growing globally, positioning it well for margin expansion.
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The Payments and Fintech segment also experienced growth, with consolidated revenue increasing by 21% to $479 million (R8.9 billion). The consolidated trading loss decreased by $62 million (R1.15 billion) to $22 million (R408 million).
Naspers expressed optimism about its future financial performance and expects to achieve profitability for the second half of the 2023/24 financial year. The company plans to invest in enhancing its ecosystems to provide value to customers while delivering returns to shareholders.
