Dutch technology investor Prosus reported on Monday a 47% jump in full-year core earnings to $7.4 billion, exceeding its financial targets, driven by its expansion into food delivery and e-commerce.
Owned by South Africa’s Naspers, Prosus is transforming from an investment group to a technology company running such services as food delivery, fintech and ride sharing, a change in strategy a BofA analyst said could shift its investment case.
Prosus announced in late February an agreement to buy Just Eat Takeaway for 4.1 billion euros ($4.72 billion) to create a “European tech champion” of food delivery.
CFO Nico Marais said the company has secured all approvals for the deal except from the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust authority. Prosus filed for the Commission’s approval last Friday.
“We will still make minority investments where it makes sense,” Marais told Reuters.
Prosus’ e-commerce revenue increased 21% to $6.2 billion, driven by advances in artificial intelligence and innovation, as the company continued to expand in Latin America, Europe, and India.
For the first time in its history, the company’s free cash flow, excluding the dividend it receives on its Tencent holding, was positive, rising to $36 million from a negative $235 million in the previous financial year.
“We expect this momentum to continue, and to add at least the same level of incremental adjusted EBIT in the full year of 2026”, Marais said in the results statement.
Asked about potential plans to increase its stake in Delivery Hero or lobby for a merger with Just Eat Takeaway.com, he said that the company was focusing on finalising the JustEat transaction.
Prosus is also putting on hold plans to float its PayU payments India business this year, and instead will concentrate on organic improvement.
“(Listing) is not going to be our focus in the next year. Our focus is going to be to improve that business. It needs to grow at a healthy rate, but we also need to improve its profitability and free cash flow generation over the next six to twelve months”, Marais said.
He added that the company will reassess whether listing could be an option.
Reuters
