Connect with us
Anglostratits

Business

MultiChoice Group maintains strategic momentum despite macroeconomic challenges

Published

2 years ago

on

MultiChoice

Despite external pressures, MultiChoice’s strategy leverages a solid financial foundation, targeted investments, and disciplined cost management to drive future growth and deliver the best video entertainment to customers

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 12, 2024/APO Group/ —

  • Unprecedented foreign exchange pressures and economic challenges in key African markets impacted earnings and dampens subscriber growth
  • On track to right-size cost base and grow new revenue streams to drive future growth as streaming gains traction at the expense of traditional pay-tv
  • Cost-cutting measures delivered R1.3bn in permanent savings, on track to reach increased full-year target of R2.5 billion
  • Showmax customer base grew 50% YoY as a leading streaming service in sub-Saharan Africa
  • Strong revenue growth in new products: DStv Steam +71%, DStv Internet +85%, DStv Insurance +31%, KingMakers +53%
  • Strong liquidity of R10 billion provides solid financial base to support growth
  • Negative equity position on track to be resolved in November 2024.

MultiChoice Group (MCG or The Group) (www.MultiChoice.com) continued to deliver exceptional video entertainment and execute on core strategic initiatives during the first six months ended 30 September 2024 (1H FY25). However, unprecedented foreign exchange volatility severely impacted the Group’s interim financial results, while ongoing macroeconomic challenges weighed on customer growth and moderated overall performance.

Facing the most challenging operating conditions in almost 40 years and to generate desired returns, the Group has been proactive in its focus to ”right-size” the business for the current economic realities and industry changes. Although operating across Africa typically subjects the group to currency moves, abnormal currency weakness over the past 18 months have reduced the group’s profits by close to R7 billion. Combined with the impact of a weak macro environment on consumers’ disposable income and therefore on subscriber growth, it required the Group to fundamentally adjust its cost base – which is exactly what has been done. The normal cost savings program was accelerated, resulting in permanent savings of R1.3bn in over the past six months and an increased target of ZAR2.5bn for the full year.

“We are making good progress in addressing the technical insolvency that resulted from non-cash accounting entries at the end of the last financial year. We expect to return to a positive net equity position by the end of November this year, supported by a number of developments and initiatives. The Group’s liquidity position remains strong, with over ZAR10bn in total available funds,” says Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO.

The Group is also adjusting to global pay-TV challenges as streaming services, the rise of social media and changing consumer preference impact the traditional broadcast business. Showmax, which reported 50% growth YoY in its paying customer base, strategically positions the business to actively participate in the streaming revolution as it gains momentum across Africa. To create sufficient capacity and drive growth, the group stepped-up its investment in this business by an incremental ZAR1.6 billion during the interim period.

“We have successfully been implementing our strategy over the past few years, achieving key milestones such as our investment in KingMakers, returning the Rest of Africa business to profitability in FY23 and FY24, concluding the Showmax partnership with Comcast and investing in Moment. While we’ve made huge inroads to reduce our cost base, there’s still more work to be done”.

“However, our focus extends beyond cost efficiency—we are equally committed to grow the business. We remain committed to driving new revenue streams and see significant medium to long-term opportunities in video entertainment, particularly in streaming, and in our adjacent new businesses,” says Mawela

The Group reported strong momentum in its new products and services, which all delivered robust   YoY revenue growth, i.e. DStv Stream +71%, DStv Internet +85% and DStv Insurance + 31%. KingMakers reported a healthy 27% increase in its online monthly active users in Nigeria and grew its revenue in Naira by 53%, while newly-launched SuperSportBet is showing good early traction in South Africa.

Financial Results Overview

Subscriber base: The pressure on the linear pay-TV subscriber base was lower than the previous six-months, reflecting a 5% decline (0.8m) compared to 6% reported (1.0m) in 2H FY24. This reflects an improving sequential trend. On a YoY basis, the linear subscriber base declined by 11% or 1.8m subscribers to 14.9m active subscribers, impacted by the challenging macroeconomic conditions that negatively impacted discretionary consumer spend.

Group revenues: Revenues increased by 4% YoY to ZAR25.4bn on an organic basis, due to disciplined inflationary pricing and revenue growth of new products. On a reported basis, revenues declined by 10%, impacted by foreign exchange pressures on the Rest of Africa business and a stronger Rand against the US Dollar.

Group trading profit: The Group’s ongoing cost optimisation drive delivered ZAR1.3bn in savings, and together with other improvements in the business, it resulted in a 33% increase in trading profit before incorporating the Showmax costs. A ZAR1.6bn step-up in the investment behind Showmax to create capacity for growth, trimmed the organic trading profit to ZAR5.0, a decline of only 1% YoY. Foreign exchange losses in the Rest of Africa business amounting to ZAR2.3bn reduced reported trading profit to ZAR2.7bn.

Adjusted core headline earnings, the board’s measure of the underlying performance of the business, amounted to ZAR7m, impacted by foreign exchange losses and the investment in Showmax.

Cash flow and liquidity: The Group free cash flow remained positive at ZAR0.6bn, with ZAR5.7bn retained in cash and cash equivalents. Despite the increase in net interest costs and a higher average debt balance, the Group remains well-positioned to navigate current challenges with access to ZAR4.4bn in undrawn facilities.

We are making good progress in addressing the technical insolvency that resulted from non-cash accounting entries at the end of the last financial year

Operational update

General entertainment and sport

Delivering content that customers love remains the Group’s core focus— whether it is the best of local or international general entertainment or the most exciting sport events.

In the past six months, the Group produced 2,763 hours of local content, bringing its local content library to 86,215 hours.

SuperSport reinforced its reputation as a global leader in sport broadcasting with extensive coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, EURO 2024, and the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup. Over the past six months, SuperSport has broadcast 10,240 live events and provided a total of 21,540 hours of live coverage, a 22% increase YoY. 

SuperSport Schools doubled its user base and crossed a milestone of one million registered users on its app, delivering over 35,000 hours of content over the past six months.

Business segments

As a mature business, MultiChoice South Africa is focused on subscriber retention and reconnections, identifying remaining growth opportunities, as well as optimising processes and systems to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.

In the Rest of Africa business, the Group is implementing several initiatives to support improved financials, including price adjustments to counter the impact of inflation, renegotiating content deals where feasible, restructuring select packages to enhance ARPU, optimising the DTT network, and intensifying anti-piracy initiatives.

In FY25, Showmax is focussed on enhancing its content line-up, bedding down distribution partnerships, expanding payment channel integrations and refining its go-to-market strategy.

Irdeto delivered encouraging revenue growth, after securing a major customer in Asian and expanding managed services with a key customer in Australasia.

KingMakers continued to gain strong momentum in Nigeria, where BetKing Nigeria has secured the second position in the online betting market. SuperSportBet, the South African business launched late last year, is showing early signs of success and reported a remarkable tenfold increase in net gaming revenue over the past nine months.

Moment, now live in 40 African countries, has shown rapid growth since its launch last year, with total payment volumes (TPV) growing to USD242m. It is already processing almost 30% of the Group’s payments.

Looking Ahead

The Group continues to invest in its long-term future, focusing on the following strategic priorities:

  • Improving profitability and cash generation in the South African business.
  • Streamlining the cost base in the Rest of Africa to return this business to profitability.
  • Investing in Showmax to establish it as the leading streaming platform on the continent.
  • Supporting KingMakers, Moment and DStv Insurance to drive scale.

By executing well on these objectives, the Group will be well positioned to deliver future growth and create value as Africa’s leading video entertainment platform and most-loved storyteller.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MultiChoice Group.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Business

WARC reveals insights from the winners of the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026

Published

5 hours ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026
Cultural insights, interactive experiences, strategic creator partnerships and platform-native ideas lead to commercial success
12 August 2026 – Strategically integrating cultural insights, interactive experiences, strategic creator partnerships, and platform-native ideas into campaigns are key drivers of commercial success, according to a new report by WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness.

‘Creative Effectiveness Lions – Insights from the 2026 winners’, identifies trends and themes common to the winners of this year’s Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions awards category, which rewards creativity that has also met business goals and driven sustainable impact over time.

Based on WARC’s exclusive access to the jury deliberations and analysis of the entries, the report unearths insights into what makes a campaign both creative and effective, offers a behind-the-scenes view on the strategies that led to success, and provides takeaways for advertisers, agencies, media owners, people and planet.

Commenting on the report, John Bizzell, Content Lead, WARC, said: “This year’s winning Creative Effectiveness campaigns offer valuable insights for marketers, demonstrating how creative excellence can address genuine business and social issues while delivering meaningful growth.”

On the winners, jury president Bertille Toledano, CEO, BETC, Havas Creative Middle East and President of Havas Creative Network, commented: “The jury sought to award Lions to campaigns that delivered genuine impact on real people – the kind of campaigns you would discuss with your mother over lunch. We kept in mind the Creative Effectiveness Ladder to select the most effective creative work that embodied a cultural vision and a clear sense of what the brand stands for. These are the ones I’ll be telling my mother about.”

The three key themes of the Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026 winners are:

  • Rewrite cultural rules, don’t just reflect them

Cultural insight is a strategic business tool that helps brands actively focus on what connects people, and how to respond and innovate. Brands that move beyond surface-level understanding and instead use cultural analysis strategically can unlock new opportunities for growth, relevance and differentiation.

 

Brands should prioritize activation over observation, position themselves as cultural solutions, and focus on value exchange rather than transactional relationships.

Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix winner, Three Words for insurance brand AXA by Publicis France, transformed its home insurance offering to support victims of domestic violence in France by adding the clause ‘and domestic violence’ to its contracts, enabling emergency relocations for those in need.

Gold winner Pedigree’s Caramelo campaign by AlmapBBDO São Paulo, redefined the concept of ‘pedigree’ and increased the adoption of mixed-breed dogs in Brazil, particularly the culturally significant Caramelo, expanding its total addressable market.

  • Interactive experiences foster deeper brand involvement

Turning brand assets into interactive tools enables brands to deepen engagement, foster participation and create memorable moments for audiences.

Brands should embrace direct consumer participation utilising assets, leverage data to build credibility, and implement meaningful reward mechanisms to drive engagement.

Vaseline, the trusted skin healer’s silver-winning Vaseline Verified campaign by Ogilvy Singapore, engaged directly with creators to address misinformation about its product on social media to ensure safe usage among consumers.

Furniture retailer IKEA’s Hidden Tags silver campaign in Portugal by Uzina, Lisbon, encouraged customers to discover the hidden production dates on their products to build consumer trust and reinforce long-term brand commitment.

  • Strategic creator partnerships and platform-native ideas build brands

Creators are more than paid promoters; they can be authentic advocates who add real value. Platform-specific features earn community buy-in and mean reach continues when spend stops.

Brands should focus on integration rather than interruption, look beyond simple amplification, and meet audiences where they naturally engage.

Uber Easts, the food delivery platform’s silver-winning campaign Football is for Food, by Special US, transformed its NFL sponsorship into a purchase opportunity by embedding itself into the sport, linking football with food.

Bronze-winning campaign ‘U Up?’ by Rethink Canada for IKEA leveraged multiple touchpoints to create unexpected brand interactions into points of purchase for mattresses by turning consumer insomnia into immediate conversation.

WARC’s John Bizzell added: “This year’s jury talked a lot about context, from sourcing to metrics and culture. The jury wanted to see work that included well-sourced, credible data and metrics on what was the business impact. They also wanted to see cultural context – on an international jury, not everyone may understand why an insight is so important for a brand or category. Entrants should bear these factors in mind for next year.”

The full report is available to WARC Strategy subscribers. An upcoming WARC Podcast available from 20 August will discuss the findings.

 

Continue Reading

Energy

ExxonMobil’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Breakthrough Signals New Era of Digital Exploration in Guyana Ahead of Caribbean Energy Week (CEW) 2027

Published

7 hours ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

Etu Energias

As artificial intelligence transforms upstream decision-making, Guyana’s energy sector continues to attract investment and innovation ahead of the Caribbean Energy Week 2027 In-Country Launch in Georgetown on 1 September 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 12, 2026/APO Group/ –ExxonMobil’s announcement that artificial intelligence has identified four new exploration opportunities within Guyana’s prolific Stabroek Block marks a significant milestone in the country’s digital transformation. By applying AI to historical discoveries, drilling results and subsurface data, the company is demonstrating how advanced analytics, machine learning, high-performance computing and next-generation seismic imaging can accelerate exploration, reduce costs and improve discovery success rates.

 

The breakthrough comes as Guyana targets crude oil production of 1.3 million barrels per day by 2027 and 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030, underscoring the growing role of digital technologies in maximizing resource development alongside continued investment in drilling and infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, the Caribbean Energy Week (CEW) 2027 Guyana In-Country Launch, taking place on 1 September 2026 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, will bring together operators, technology providers, geoscience companies, investors and regulators to examine the latest developments shaping Guyana’s energy sector and build momentum ahead of CEW 2027 next July. Returning for its second edition, CEW provides a premier platform for advancing investment, showcasing new projects and highlighting the technologies driving the country’s next phase of upstream growth.

Momentum behind AI adoption continues to build. In May 2026, ExxonMobil Vice President of Exploration John Ardill confirmed the company was expanding its use of deep learning, machine learning and high-performance computing to analyze seismic data and identify hydrocarbon-bearing prospects that were previously more difficult to evaluate.

The company is simultaneously advancing an ambitious offshore drilling program. This month, ExxonMobil commenced new drilling activities in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone, including the Whiptail development well and Rockhead-1 exploration well. Earlier this year, the company also sought environmental authorization for the Haimara gas-condensate development and has proposed a 35-well drilling campaign between 2028 and 2033, reinforcing confidence in Guyana’s long-term exploration potential.

These developments are creating growing opportunities for AI developers, digital technology providers, seismic specialists, engineering firms and oilfield service companies that can support increasingly data-driven exploration and field development activities.

As the first official milestone on the road to Caribbean Energy Week 2027, the Georgetown launch will provide a platform for industry leaders to examine the technologies, partnerships and investment strategies driving Guyana’s next phase of growth while strengthening collaboration across the Caribbean energy sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Continue Reading

Business

SOKOYO Advances Global Solar Street Lighting Capabilities

Published

8 hours ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

SOKOYO

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 August 2026 – SOKOYO, a top manufacturer of solar street lights, has installed 252 sets of lighting units in QatarEnergy’s solar power project in Ras Laffan and Masaieed in Qatar.

Installation of SOKOYO’s split solar street lights for the project being built by Samsung C&T Corp. was completed in July. The arrangement of solar panels was customized at the customer’s request for ease of maintenance.

“SOKOYO provided us with a specially customized solution for our power station,” said Ms. Kathy, senior procurement manager for Samsung. “The entire solar street lighting system consistently met our expectations for brightness, battery life and overall reliability.”

SOKOYO, founded in 2008, has manufactured more than 1 million lighting units installed in a wide range of settings across SoutheastAsia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The company manufactures its own LED modules, solar panels, batteries, light housings and light poles. They have third-party certification for European Union and other safety and reliability standards, which qualifies them for export to global markets.

SOKOYO is regularly appointed to bodies that establish national and industry standards.

SOKOYO’s product line includes all-in-one solar street lights, all-in-two solar street lights and split-type solar street lights. They can be controlled remotely with IoT technology to improve safety and efficiency. Using solar power makes them immune to disruptions in supplies of oil and gas.

As the industry evolves to focus on “system-level R&D,” SOKOYO is reducing customer costs by enhancing reliability and resistance to heat and cold. To improve efficiency, it is developing smart lighting and IoT applications. It is promoting modular production, intelligent manufacturing and standardized process management.

The research team has seven engineers, some with more than two decades of industry experience. They develop technology for a wide range of environments and customer needs.

SOKOYO has experience in markets including Thailand, thePhilippines, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. It has developed technology to cope with heat, humidity, sandstorms and low light during extended rains, a challenge in central Africa and other areas.

In Uganda, SOKOYO supplied 1,000 light sets to help improve safety on a busy expressway between the capital, Kampala, and the eastern industrial center of Jinja. They provide the first nighttime lighting on a 22-kilometer section of road crowded with trucks, buses and motorcycles.

In Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, SOKOYO lights use LED modules developed to cope with heat, sun and sand.

The company supplied more than 2,000 light units to Saudi Arabia’s planned high-tech city of NEOM as part of the Saudi 2030 Vision plan.

Customers can use SOKOYO’s test facilities to try out different light configurations. Lights can be tested on roads of up to four lanes in an1,100-square-meter darkroom. Designers and urban planners can ensure light is distributed effectively, eliminating dark areas on the road and improving safety.

Batteries are tested to confirm they resist crushing, heat and cold, vibration, overcharging or being dropped. LED modules are drenched in salt spray for up to 72 hours to make sure they resist corrosion.

SOKOYO has been chosen for bodies that formulated eight national and industry standards including the “General Technical Specification for Solar Photovoltaic Lighting Devices” in 2025 with definitions and standards for split-type and integrated solar devices.

SOKOYO products have third-party certification that they meet standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and other bodies.Its batteries meet the requirements of the CB scheme under the IEC, recognized in more than 50 countries. Tests confirm they withstand overcharging, high temperature, vibration, impact and short circuit.

The company’s solar panels received IEC certification that they meet standards for electric shock protection, temperature changes, damp, heat, humidity, hail impact and other factors.

SOKOYO participates in efforts to improve the industry’s reputation by promoting “zero false labeling” and reliable products that refuse to cut corners.

SOKOYO pays attention to the environment. Its products are designed to minimize light pollution and limit disruption for wildlife, stargazers and the public.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

 

Continue Reading

Trending