Entertainment group MultiChoice said yesterday that it expected its headline loss per share for the six months ended September 30 to fall by as much as 302% mainly due to foreign currency movements.
Headline loss per share for the current period was expected to be between 229 cents and 233c lower than the previous period´s reported headline loss per share of 58c, while the loss per share for the current period was expexted to be between 248c and 252c lower than the previous period´s reported loss per share of 60c.
“The expected increase in losses and headline losses per share is primarily due a sharp depreciation in local currencies against the US dollar. This primarily impacts the revaluation of US dollar denominated transponder leases and the non-quasi equity foreign exchange losses on the intergroup loans with MultiChoice Nigeria. Losses were further impacted by the increased investment in Showmax ahead of its relaunch in the second half of FY24,” it said.
Despite this, MultiChoice said the management's focus on pricing and cost disciplines, as well as on subscriber retention, a better customer mix and lower decoder subsidies, delivered an “encouraging trading performance on an organic basis”.
This was despite the increased investment in Showmax ahead of its anticipated relaunch in the second half of 2024. On a reported basis, an adverse economic and exchange rate environment had impacted negatively on the group's financial results, it said.
Incorporating R0.5bn in additional Showmax costs and despite a 16% increase in local content investment, trading profit on an organic basis, reflecting results on a constant currency basis and excluding mergers and acquisitions, was expected to be between 7% (R0.4 billion) and 12% (R0.7bn) higher than the R6.1bn reported for the six months ended September 30, 2022 .
After absorbing a R1.7bn cost as a result of weaker currencies, trading profit on a reported basis was expected to be between 16% (R1.0bn) and 21% (R1.3bn) lower than the R6.1bn previously reported.
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