Naspers and Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi has spent his first 100 days in office focusing on deploying AI through the businesses and on operating execution, he said on Monday.
In a letter to shareholders, Bloisi, who took over from Bob van Dijk earlier in 2024, said he had spent most of the last three months with the groups’ businesses to understand how they could grow faster, be more profitable and how work together more closely.
“We have implemented a new management model and introduced new rituals to ensure our employees are informed and engaged,” he wrote.
“The group is moving faster, innovating and developing greater connectivity within the Prosus ecosystem. We have accomplished a lot in a short period across our operations and portfolio, highlighting value and amplifying our businesses through AI.”
During the period, Prosus streamlined the structure of eMAG and committed the business to full-year profitability in 2024. In addition, iFood hit 100-million orders per month for the first time.
The group sold its stake in Trip.com for $1.5bn and sold Superbalist and put Takealot in a position for sustained growth, enabling it to concentrate its efforts to further expand Takealot.com and Mr D.
It also implemented a new management model that would help Takealot move faster, sharpen its focus, and deliver superior services in SA.
India’s Swiggy announced its intent towards an IPO. “Our early focus and investment in India is paying off and we are excited to see the potential for Swiggy’s value to be clearly highlighted in the public domain.”
The group has many more investments in India and will continue to invest there as its remains excited about the prospects for the country.
“I expect we will see more of our investments in India IPO in the coming 12-18 months,” Bloisi said.
Prosus also signed an agreement to sell Tazz, a Romanian food delivery company owned byeMAG, to Wolt. This move will enable eMAG to improve its core operations in e-tail and focus on its priorities, on grocery delivery and financial services.
“We have coupled improved operations and active portfolio management with improved results. Prosus just closed on the first half of our fiscal year, and I am happy to report that the business continues to grow strongly and profitably,” he said.
In the first half of the year, e-commerce revenue growth accelerated from fiscal year 2024, generating about three times the adjusted ebit than it did in the entire year last year.
“We are building a great company that innovates fast with exceptional products, grows quickly and improves its profitability consistently over time. We are committed to that,” he said.
In fiscal year 2024, Prosus improved its e-commerce adjusted ebit by more than $400m, and the intent is to keep that pace up this year and deliver $400m in adjusted EBIT from the Ecommerce operations.
“I do not expect this pace of improvement to slowdown next year either. It is critical that our core Ecommerce business becomes a bigger source of profitability and free cash flow for the group,” he said.
“Today Prosus is worth about $100bn, and I am focused on how we can create another $100bn of value in the Prosus ecosystem by building and investing in fast growing and profitable businesses. I am also focused on how that will generate real returns for our shareholders,” he said.
In August, Business Day reported that Bloisi spent R83m of his own money buying up shares in the JSE’s largest group. The Brazilian business-person had bought 127,335 units of Prosus stock at €31.71 a share, which is worth just more than €4m.
A CEO buying shares in their company can be seen as a strong vote of confidence in its future prospects.
Bloisi was previously the CEO of Prosus’ Latin American food delivery business, iFood. He had acquired iFood in 2013 when it was a 20-person start-up, and has since grown it — rapidly and profitably — to become Brazil’s leading food delivery company.
Prosus took full control of iFood for €1.5bn in 2022.
With Mudiwa Gavaza
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