South Africa’s largest broadcaster, JSE-listed MultiChoice Group, said on Friday it expects full-year trading profit to jump by as much as 30% and by as much as 45% on an “organic” basis.

Trading profit will be between R2-billion (25%) and R2.4-billion (30%) higher in the 12 months ended 31 March 2021 compared to the same period a year earlier. On a constant-currency basis and excluding any mergers and acquisitions, trading profit will jump by between R3.2-billion (40%) and R3.6-billion (45%), it said.

MultiChoice, which owns DStv, SuperSport, Showmax and other assets, considers trading profit and core headline earnings per share (Heps) to be the two most appropriate measure of operating performance as they adjust for non-recurring and non-operational items. Core Heps will be between R1.82 and R2.11, an increase of between 32% and 37% on last year’s R5.69 figure.

“The improved financial performance for the 2021 financial year was achieved despite continued macroeconomic and Covid-19 challenges across the African continent,” the group said in a statement to investors.

“Resilient revenue growth, strong cost control, shifts in content costs and the impact of embracing new ways of working as a consequence of Covid-19 allowed the business to offset these challenges.”

A further reduction in losses in the “rest of Africa” segment was the largest contributor to the improvement in group performance, MultiChoice.