PAY-TV PLATFORM
Why Naspers may revitalise its video entertainment unit
Naspers may spend about R1bn bolstering its video entertainment division as it warns it may take a while for the unit’s struggling sub-Saharan Africa operations to return to profitability. The business under MultiChoice’s pay-TV platform Dstv managed to record modest growth in subscribers in the year to March, thanks to the change in pricing and discontinuation of nonperforming content. But currency weakness negated a similar improvement in financial performance. The business recorded a trading loss of $358m. Monetary policy continued to affect liquidity in Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique with limited availability of foreign currency. At the end of March, Naspers had $289m cash trapped in Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique. But it had managed to extract the bulk of the money by the end of May. Naspers chief financial officer Basil Sgourdos said it may take a "couple of years" for the sub-Saharan Africa business to return to profitability. "Video entertainment has become both more mature ...
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