MultiChoice under the pump

MultiChoice has warned shareholders that its 2025 financial year results will likely be negatively impacted as the company continues to struggle in a challenging consumer environment.

On Friday, 28 March 2025, MultiChoice released a voluntary trading update to inform shareholders that it is preparing its financial results for the year ending 31 March 2025.

In its interim financial results for the six months through September 2024, MultiChoice indicated that several of its divisions were under pressure.

For example, it said MultiChoice South Africa was operating in a challenging consumer environment, which resulted in negative subscriber growth and limited revenue growth. 

The company also cautioned that, due to very high levels of personal indebtedness, it would take time for positive developments, such as lower interest rates and a stable rand, to result in materially higher disposable income for South African consumers.

MultiChoice also indicated that, at a group level, it was navigating “unprecedented external adversities”, including macro-economic headwinds, disrupted power supply and severe currency depreciation in some of its key African markets. 

These factors, combined with MultiChoice’s increased investment in its streaming platform, resulted in the company reporting weak interim financial results.

In its trading update on Friday, MultiChoice said these same pressures continued to weigh on its operations in the six months through March 2025.

It said household spending remained constrained by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and this was compounded by elevated inflation and interest rates in many of the company’s markets. 

MultiChoice warned that this is likely to impact negatively on its performance in its 2025 financial year. 

“The group has returned to a positive equity position, but capital preservation remains a key consideration in the current environment,” it said.

The company further explained that its board is still determining the dividend it will pay out for MultiChoice South Africa.

However, Phuthuma Nathi shareholders were warned that any MultiChoice South Africa dividend for its 2025 financial year is likely to be significantly lower than prior years.

MultiChoice’s 2025 annual results are expected to be released on 12 June 2025.