Prosus plans to deliver US$400-million in adjusted earnings before interest and tax from its e-commerce operations in the year to end-March, and sees this improving in future, CEO Fabricio Bloisi said.
“In fiscal year 2024, the group improved its e-commerce adjusted EBIT by more than $400-million, and our intent is to keep that pace up this year and deliver $400-million in adjusted EBIT from our e-commerce operations,” he said in a letter about his first 100 days as CEO of the South African-Dutch tech group.
“I do not expect this pace of improvement to slow down next year either,” he said.
In the first half of the year, e-commerce revenue growth accelerated from fiscal 2024, generating about three times the adjusted EBIT than it did in the entire year last year, he said.
“It is critical that our core e-commerce business becomes a bigger source of profitability and free cash flow for the group,” Bloisi said.
Cape Town-headquartered Naspers is one of the biggest technology investors globally and listed its internet unit, Prosus, in Amsterdam about five years ago, but kept a single CEO across both entities. Naspers owns South Africa’s largest e-commerce company, Takealot Group.
Legacy structure
Bloisi is contending with the legacy of a complicated business structure that stumped his predecessor, Bob van Dijk, including the group’s investment in Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, and a market environment that’s been tough on some of the group’s dozens of internet businesses. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
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