Cash-flush and upbeat, Naspers hits the jackpot
The internet holding company says adjusted core headline earnings per share are likely to be up between 70% and 75%
Naspers said on Wednesday it expected to report profits for the year ended March that were ahead of its own expectations. The internet holding company said adjusted core headline earnings per share — a metric that excludes one-offs, including the recent sale of Tencent shares — were likely to be up between 70% and 75%. “It’s a great performance that’s ahead of what we had expected in terms of the business plan,” Naspers chief financial officer Basil Sgourdos said from Hong Kong, where associate company Tencent is listed. Shares in Naspers closed 1.2% up at R3,393 on Wednesday.
Naspers, which expects to publish its results on June 22, had altered the way it accounted for certain items due to “changed circumstances”, Sgourdos said. It would bring $2.2bn worth of put options — mechanisms to buy out minority shareholders of certain portfolio companies — onto its balance sheet. This was because Naspers, which is cash-flush after raising funds by trimming its stake in Tencent and se...
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