Johannesburg, South Africa – June 24, 2024 – South African technology investor Naspers reported a significant jump in full-year earnings, driven by a strong performance from its e-commerce businesses and continued contributions from its major holding, Chinese tech giant Tencent.
The company’s core headline earnings per share, a key measure of profitability, more than doubled to 1,148 U.S. cents for the year ended March 31, 2024, compared to 546 cents a year earlier. This positive result reflects both the growth of Naspers’ e-commerce ventures and the ongoing strength of its stake in Tencent.
Naspers, which houses its international investments under the Amsterdam-listed Prosus, announced a significant milestone: its consolidated e-commerce business achieved profitability in the second half of the year, exceeding its previous target of reaching profitability by the first half of 2025. This shift marks a major success for the company’s investments in online marketplaces like Brazil’s iFood, Delivery Hero, and India’s Swiggy. The e-commerce segment went from a yearly loss of $435 million to a profit of $24 million.
Overall, Naspers’ consolidated revenue from continuing operations grew 8% to $6.4 billion. Classifieds and food delivery businesses were the biggest contributors to this growth.
While Naspers has reduced its stake in Tencent from 26.2% to 25%, the Chinese tech company remains a critical holding. The funds from this partial sale are being used for a share buyback program in Prosus, which Naspers controls. This strategy is seen as beneficial to shareholders, as Prosus currently trades at a significant discount compared to the value of its Tencent stake.
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