Naspers’ first-half earnings to rise on e-commerce businesses growth and Tencent

Naspers expects to report higher earnings for the first half of its financial year thanks to strong growth in revenue and profitability of its consolidated e-commerce businesses and its equity-accounted investments, particularly Tencent.

The group said in a trading statement on Monday that core headline earnings per share (HEPS) for continuing operations for the six months ended September were expected to increase 20.8%-27.8% to 180c-240c (US).

The board considers core headline earnings a useful indicator of the operating performance of the group, as it adjusts for non-operational items.

HEPS for continuing operations will rise between 5.6% and 12.6%.

Core HEPS benefited from the exclusion of foreign currency translation losses, which are included in headline earnings.

Earnings per share for continuing operations during the period were expected to increase between 30.2% and 37.2 %. That was primarily due to increased profitability in Naspers’ consolidated and equity accounted results — primarily Tencent — and the gain on the sale of Tencent shares related to the share repurchase programme.

“The group delivered on its commitment to increase profitable growth in the first half of financial year 2026, achieving strong financial and operational results,” it said.

“We believe we are not only delivering short-term results but building the foundations for continued growth over a long period. Our ecosystem model now serves approximately 2-billion consumers worldwide and spans across nearly 100 companies with complementary capabilities,” it added.

In October the group completed a five-for-one share split.

The financial results of Prosus almost completely account for Naspers’ results.

Prosus’ core headline earnings per ordinary share N for continuing operations for the period are expected to increase between 20.1% and 28.5% to 29c-41c.

Heps for continuing operations will rise between 6.5% and 15.9%, it said.