MultiChoice results in a nutshell

MultiChoice’s results for the six months ended 30 September 2022 showed an increase in revenue and operating profit but a large decrease in profit after tax.

The group’s revenue was up R1.8 billion to R28.6 billion, thanks to the Rest of Africa, which performed well.

The Rest of Africa’s revenue increased 28% from R8.3 billion to R10.6 billion, and trading losses narrowed to R0.3 billion.

MultiChoice’s South African operations let the group down, with revenue declining from R17.8 billion to R17.4 billion.

Another poor performer was its technology segment, which struggled with chip shortages and global supply chain disruptions.

Irdeto’s revenues were down 13% year-on-year to R0.7 billion. However, it still contributed R0.4 billion to group trading profit as strong cost containment resulted in healthy margins.

On the operational side, MultiChoice’s linear pay-TV subscriber base increased by 1.0 million to 22.1 million.

9.1 million subscribers are from South Africa, while 13 million subscribers are from the Rest of Africa (RoA).

South Africa’s subscribers are broken into three segments – premium, mid-market, and mass market.

The premium and mid-market segments lost subscribers, while the mass market grew by 9% to offset the decline in the more expensive segments.

As a result of losing high-end subscribers, the average revenue per user (ARPU) in South Africa declined by 4%.

In the rest of Africa, subscribers increased by 6% from 12.2 million to 13.0 million, with strong growth across all segments.

MultiChoice reported a 50% increase in paying ShowMax subscribers and a 111% increase in ShowMax Pro subscribers.

These figures include all paying customers, including discounted DStv Add to Bill customers but excluding free DStv Add to Bill customers.

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said MultiChoice is well positioned because of the quality of the content on their platforms.

“In the second half of the financial year, a core focus will be broadcasting the 2022 FIFA World Cup and producing more local content,” he said.

He added that they would grow their online offering and scale its Showmax paying subscriber base, supported by the recent launch of the Streama.

“Tight cost management remains an ongoing priority, and the group is on track to exceed its cost-cutting target for the year,” he said.

Given strong growth momentum, Mawela is confident about returning the Rest of Africa segment to profitability in the current financial year.

Best and worst performing segments

The tables below show how MultiChoice makes its money and the best and worst-performing segments over the six-month reporting period. All values in (million).