Global Internet group Prosus N.V. has posted $15.88 billion in profit in the first half of its current 2022 financial year despite reporting a $304-million operating loss from its e-commerce segment.
The surge in earnings was spurred by a one-off gain from the sale of its holdings in Tencent, a Chinese Internet gaming and social media group, which continues to deliver as one of Prosus’s most profitable investments to date.
Prosus is a Dutch multinational conglomerate that operates as the international Internet assets division of the South African multinational group, Naspers.
Since its founding in 1997, the group has grown under the leadership of South African billionaire Koos Bekker into the largest consumer Internet company in Europe and one of the biggest technology investors in the world.
As of Sept. 30, the group had total assets of $70.84 billion, while its e-commerce portfolio, which has grown significantly in value excluding Tencent, was valued at $50 billion.
Compared to last year’s figures, Prosus’ profit after tax soared by 424 percent during the half-year period from $3.02 billion in the first half of 2021 to $15.82 billion in the corresponding period of its 2022 financial year.
Aside from the 31-percent growth in the group’s revenue in terms of economic interest from $12.69 billion to $16.63 billion, the half-year financial performance was supported by the trimming down of its Tencent holdings, which led to a one-off gain of $12.3 billion.
Bob van Dijk, group CEO of Prosus and Naspers, said Prosus’ Internet businesses delivered solid growth, compounding a solid performance during the period under review.
“Our progress is reflected in the increasing value attributed to our e-commerce portfolio and, to capture the significant opportunity ahead, we stepped up investment in our core segments of food delivery, ed-tech, payments and fintech, and classifieds,” he said.
Prosus’ management strongly expects its earnings to be immune to future crackdowns in China on large technology firms.
The group noted that despite upcoming regulations, Tencent is one of the best-positioned Internet companies in the most attractive Internet market in the world.
As of press time, Nov. 22, shares in Prosus were worth €75.55, down by 2.36 percent from their opening price this morning on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
At the current price, Bekker’s stake in the leading Internet investor is valued at €915.21 million ($1.033 billion).
Bekker’s 0.56-percent stake in Prosus makes him the single largest individual shareholder in the Dutch multinational.
