Prosus delivers US$773m free cash flow improvement, 19% revenue growth and Ecommerce profitability
June 24 2024 - 1:55AM
Business Wire
Prosus N.V. (Prosus) (AEX and JSE: PRX): It has been a standout
year for the Group. Prosus simplified its Group structure,
delivered improvements across all core performance metrics and
achieved Ecommerce profitability six months ahead of target.
Operating businesses have performed well, accelerating profitable
growth, while the open-ended buyback programme continues to deliver
value for our shareholders every day. The rapid deployment of
AI-led technologies across the Prosus ecosystem is generating real
results and will set the next frontier of value creation for the
Group. Prosus has a strong balance sheet and is well positioned to
generate improved returns through smart and disciplined capital
allocation, driving value for all stakeholders.
On 17 May 2024, the Board announced the appointment of Fabricio
Bloisi, former iFood CEO, as Prosus and Naspers Group CEO,
effective from 1 July 2024. Ervin Tu, Interim Group CEO, will
become Group President and Chief Investment Officer (CIO).
- Accelerated peer-leading topline growth of 19%, with Ecommerce
consolidated revenue of US$5.5bn.
- Achieved consolidated Ecommerce profitability ahead of target,
with a US$451m1 improvement in trading profit to US$38m.
- Free cash flow increased US$773m to US$524m, a 3x improvement
year-on-year.
- US$35bn of value created by the ongoing buyback programme since
launch, delivering 8% NAV per share accretion.
- Group structure simplified through the removal of the
cross-holding agreement between Prosus and Naspers.
Ervin Tu, Interim Group CEO, Prosus and Naspers,
commented: “We have made substantial progress this year in
delivering against our strategy. Our Ecommerce portfolio is
profitable for the first time ever, and our ongoing buyback has
created significant shareholder value. We also reorganised the
Group, bringing us closer to our businesses so that we can enhance
their performance further. AI continues to be the highest priority,
and our in-house AI expertise, combined with our implementation of
AI in practice across our entire portfolio, are distinct
competitive advantages. AI is instrumental to our efforts in
building and investing behind the next wave of technology
leaders.”
Fabricio Bloisi, incoming Group CEO, said: “These results
illustrate the amazing progress we’ve made, as well as our future
potential. Prosus operates in some of the world’s most dynamic
markets and through our technology ecosystem, we can make a real
difference to the lives of our more than two billion customers. In
June, I’ve learnt more about our business and I’m even more excited
about the potential to further leverage our ecosystem and keep
improving our results. I’m confident in our ability to innovate,
collaborate and lead within existing and new sectors, and to grow
our businesses’ profitability. I begin on 1 July 2024 and am
excited about the enormous potential that I see to generate
long-term value for all our stakeholders.”
Group performance
Consolidated results for
continuing operations
Group
FY2024
FY2023
YoY change
Revenues
US$5.5bn
US$4.9bn
19%
Adjusted EBITDA
(US$13m)
(US$480m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
(US$118m)
(US$586m)
79%
Core headline earnings
US$5.0bn
US$2.7bn
84%1
Ecommerce portfolio
Revenues
US$5.5bn
US$4.9bn
19%
Adjusted EBITDA
US$136m
(US$314m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
US$38m
(US$413m)
109%
Food Delivery
Revenues
US$1.2bn
US$1.4bn
22%
Adjusted EBITDA
US$77m
(US$94m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
US$67m
(US$106m)
161%
Classifieds
Revenues
US$707m
US$519m
27%
Adjusted EBITDA
US$187m
US$73m
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
US$172m
US$56m
182%
Payments & Fintech
Revenues
US$1.1bn
US$903m
38%
Adjusted EBITDA
(US$23m)
(US$77m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
(US$31m)
(US$83m)
81%
Edtech
Revenues
US$148m
US$134m
9%
Adjusted EBITDA
(US$91m)
(US$122m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
(US$98m)
(US$131m)
25%
Etail
Revenues
US$2.2bn
US$1.9bn
8%
Adjusted EBITDA
US$21m
(US$9m)
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
(US$35m)
(US$61m)
44%
Economic interest results from
continuing operations
Group
Revenues
US$31.7bn
US$31.4bn
12%
Adjusted EBITDA
US$7.0bn
US$5.0bn
n/a
Trading profit / (loss)
US$5.8bn
US$3.6bn
82%
Basil Sgourdos, Group CFO, Prosus and Naspers, commented:
“Following a year of strong execution, our Ecommerce portfolio is
profitable for the first time, well ahead of target. What’s more,
our peer-leading growth accelerated, and profitable growth is set
to continue. Core headline earnings have almost doubled, and our
strong Ecommerce results and performance at Tencent have driven a
threefold increase in free cash flow. Our strong and flexible
balance sheet, active portfolio management and disciplined capital
allocation put us in strong position to deliver against our
long-term strategy.”
Peer-leading growth and increasing profitability across
Ecommerce portfolio
Food Delivery: iFood grew well and significantly improved
profitability
- iFood delivered industry-leading top line growth, with Gross
Merchandise Value (GMV) up 20%, orders up 18% and revenue
increasing 22%.
- iFood’s core restaurant business almost tripled trading profit
to US$260m, with a 24% trading margin.
- Overall, iFood trading profit increased significantly to
US$96m, up 249%, supported by optimised marketing spend and
increased cost control.
- Delivery Hero grew group GMV by 6% for the year ended 31
December 2023, with revenue up 16%, boosting profitability to an
adjusted EBITDA of €254m.
- Swiggy grew Gross Order Value (GOV) by 26%, as operating
metrics improved, and adjusted EBITDA improved to a loss of
US$261m.
Classifieds – OLX Group: Strong performance, with accelerated
growth and expanding margins
- Classifieds consolidated revenue grew 27%, driven by a strong
performance in OLX Europe, notably in the motors category, and a
recovery in OLX Ukraine.
- Trading profit more than tripled to US$172m, with trading
profit margin increasing 13 percentage points, to 24%.
- Performance driven by streamlining of operations, more
effective marketing spend and strategic optimisation of technology
hubs.
- Exited OLX Autos businesses (excluding the US).
Payments & Fintech – PayU: Strong growth within core
Payments Service Provider (PSP) business and improved overall
profitability
- Consolidated revenue grew 38% to US$1.1bn, driven by growth in
core PSP operations in India and at GPO.
- Core PSP grew revenue by 41%, Total Payment Volume (TPV)
increased by 25% and delivered a trading profit of US$19m.
- Standout performance at Iyzico, PayU’s Turkish PSP business,
with revenues up 119% in nominal terms and a trading profit of
US$17m.
- Overall, consolidated trading loss improved by 81% to US$31m,
with a 6-percentage point improvement in trading profit
margin.
- Received in-principle authorisation from the Reserve Bank of
India to operate as a payment aggregator, enabling PayU India to
restart onboarding new merchants.
- Sale of GPO business to Rapyd (excluding PayU Turkey and Red
Dot Payment) with closing expected in calendar 2024.
- Strong performance at Remitly for the year-ended 31 December
2023, with revenue increasing 44% and EBITDA margin expanding to
5%.
Edtech: Strategic focus on AI investments as trading losses
reduce
- Consolidated revenue grew 9% to US$148m, while trading losses
reduced by 25% to US$98m.
- Stack Overflow turnaround underway, with losses reduced by 70%
in H2 from $44m to $13m.
- Stack Overflow introduced OverflowAPI, enabling AI and LLM
providers to leverage Stack’s public dataset within their own AI
capabilities. API partnerships recently signed with Google and
OpenAI.
- Stack Overflow recently launched OverflowAI product for general
availability.
- GoodHabitz grew revenue by 20%, while trading losses halved to
US$8m.
Please note: Group results are shown on a
consolidated basis from continuing operations, which reflect all
majority owned and managed businesses. All OLX Autos business units
are classified as discontinued operations, in line with IFRS
disclosures. All growth percentages shown here are in local
currency terms, excluding the impact of acquisitions and disposals
(M&A), unless otherwise stated. Growth percentages shown here
for all non-financial key performance indicators compare FY24 to
FY23.
1On a nominal basis.
For full details of the Group’s results, please visit
www.prosus.com.
About Prosus:
Prosus is a global consumer internet group and one of the
largest technology investors in the world. Operating and investing
globally in markets with long-term growth potential, Prosus builds
leading consumer internet companies that empower people and enrich
communities.
The Group is focused on building meaningful businesses in the
online classifieds, food delivery, payments & fintech, and
education technology sectors. Through the Prosus Ventures team, the
Group invests in new technology growth opportunities within
logistics, fintech, health, blockchain, social and Ecommerce
platforms, agriculture and more.
The Group actively backs exceptional entrepreneurs using
technology to improve people’s everyday lives. Each month, over two
billion customers across the globe use the products and services of
companies that Prosus has invested in, acquired, or built.
Prosus has a primary listing on Euronext Amsterdam (AEX:PRX) and
secondary listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (XJSE:PRX)
and a2X Markets (PRX.AJ). Prosus is majority-owned by Naspers.
For more information, please visit www.prosus.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240623072242/en/
Eoin Ryan Head of Investor Relations Tel: +1 347 210 4305
Email: eoin.ryan@prosus.com
Charlie Pemberton Communications Director Tel: +31 615
494 359 Email: charlie.pemberton@prosus.com