The Naspers CEO’s letter about the company’s future

Naspers and Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi wrote a letter to shareholders commemorating his first 100 days at the helm, wherein he laid out his plans to double the company’s value.

Bloisi started his term in July this year, replacing former CEO Ervin Tu, who is now the company’s president and chief investment officer.

Prior to his appointment, Bloisi was the CEO of iFood, which he acquired in 2013 when it was a 20-person start-up. He has since grown it rapidly and profitably to become Brazil’s leading food delivery company.

Naspers described Bloisi as a proven entrepreneur and innovator with deep roots in operating, building and scaling world-class technology companies within growth markets.

“It is an honour to be given the opportunity to lead Prosus and Naspers during a very exciting period of innovation and change within the technology space,” Bloisi said at the time of his appointment.

“I am proud that we have grown iFood into one of the largest and most successful brands in Latin America.”

“This was driven by a passionate team balancing innovation with disciplined investment while acting fast and empowering our great people.” 

“That combination is in my DNA, and I will bring it to my new role as Prosus and Naspers CEO.”

In his letter, released on SENS on Monday, Bloisi reflected on his first 100 days at the helm and expressed excitement about the company’s future and its potential for significant value creation. 

He noted that Prosus, valued at around $100 billion, aims to generate an additional $100 billion in value by investing in fast-growing, profitable businesses and delivering substantial returns to shareholders. 

Over the past few months, Bloisi has engaged closely with the company’s businesses to explore opportunities for faster growth, improved profitability, and enhanced collaboration within the Prosus ecosystem. 

He said his time with the team has increased his confidence in achieving these objectives.

The CEO also outlined a series of initiatives and operational improvements aimed at positioning the company for long-term success. 

For example, a new management model has been introduced to ensure better communication and engagement across the company. 

This, coupled with new management “rituals”, is helping the group move faster, foster innovation, and create deeper connectivity between its various businesses. 

Bloisi explained that one of the main drivers of this transformation is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across the company’s operations. 

He cited examples from iFood and OLX, which are leveraging AI to deliver better results and promised more AI-driven advancements across the business in the near future.

Furthermore, Bloisi outlined key accomplishments the group has achieved across different areas of the business since he took over.

Bloisi’s letter can be seen in full below.

CEO Letter – 100 Days Update

Dear Partners,

Hello! I hope you are well. I am 100 days into my role as CEO of Prosus and Naspers, and I am even more excited about the prospects for our company.

Today, Prosus is worth around $100 billion, and I am focused on how we can create another $100 billion 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.

I have spent most of the last three months with our businesses to understand how they can grow faster and be more profitable and how we can work together more closely. The experience has been amazing, and I am increasingly confident we will achieve our goals.

We have implemented a new management model and introduced new rituals to ensure our employees are informed and engaged. 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.

These accomplishments include:

Deploying AI Everywhere

• We continue to integrate AI across the business. You have seen examples of this from the iFood and OLX case studies on our website. You will continue to see more as we increasingly deploy AI to amplify our results.

Operating Execution

• We streamlined the structure of eMAG and committed the business to full-year profitability this year.

• iFood hit 100 million orders per month for the first time ever. I am incredibly proud of the iFood team for hitting this milestone, and I have rewarded them with a new goal of 200 million orders per month!

Highlighting Value through Active Portfolio Management

• We sold our stake in Trip.com for $1.5 billion. We will continue to manage our portfolio actively as we look to maximise and unlock more value for our shareholders.

• We 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. Additionally, we implemented a new management model that will help Takealot move faster, sharpen its focus, and deliver superior services in South Africa.

• Swiggy announced its intent to 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. We have many more investments in India and will continue to invest there as we remain very excited about the prospects for the country. I expect we will see more of our investments in India IPO in the coming twelve to eighteen months.

• We signed an agreement to sell Tazz, a Romanian food delivery company owned by eMAG, to Wolt. This move will enable eMAG to improve its core operations in etail 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.

In the first half of the year, eCommerce 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. In fiscal year 2024, the Group improved its eCommerce Adjusted EBIT by more than $400 million, and our intent is to keep that pace up this year and deliver $400 million in Adjusted EBIT from our eCommerce operations.

I do not expect this pace of improvement to slow down next year, either. It is critical that our core eCommerce business becomes a bigger source of profitability and free cash flow for the Group.

So, there is a lot going on, and we are just starting!

Thank you for your continued support of Prosus and Naspers, your feedback, and your partnership. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Um abraço,

Fabricio Bloisi