Naspers on track in e-commerce lane
Unit dealing with online retail payments and food delivery shows promise
Naspers said on Wednesday that it was making progress with its e-commerce business, which continues to drain cash as companies in this particular division build scale. The e-commerce unit, which includes classifieds, online retail payments and food delivery services, grew revenue by 15% to $1.6bn in the six months through September. On a like-for-like basis, revenue was up 38%. While e-commerce trading losses rose 9% to $318m, the classifieds unit edged towards profitability and Naspers said its main payments business – PayU – "is well on track to achieve break-even by the end of the financial year". On the other hand, the group’s traditional video entertainment and media operations – comprised mostly of MultiChoice and Media24 – generated trading profits of $255m. "It’s not a straight net-net but it’s sustainable in that they continue to make money from the old business and push into the new," said Byron Lotter, a portfolio manager at Vestact. Naspers said group trading profits inc...
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