The past two financial years brought significant financial disruption across sub-Saharan Africa. Economies, corporates and consumers faced sustained pressure due to challenging macro-economic factors. Structural changes in the video entertainment industry further compounded this disruption.
The rise of piracy, increasing popularity of streaming services, and the influence of social media have materially affected the overall performance of the MultiChoice Group. During this period, the group lost 2.8 million active linear subscribers. In addition, local currency depreciation against the US dollar resulted in a negative topline impact of ZAR10.2 billion.
Managing headwinds through decisive action
To withstand these headwinds, management focused on areas within their control. They applied inflationary pricing with discipline.
In South Africa, prices rose by approximately 5.7 percent in FY25 compared to 5.6 percent in FY24. In the Rest of Africa, the group implemented an average local currency price increase of 31 percent in FY25, up from 27 percent in FY24. This strategy helped offset pressure from declining subscriber volumes. As a result, the group delivered one percent year-on-year organic revenue growth for the current financial year.
Cost and cash flow management efforts also intensified. The group achieved ZAR3.7 billion in cost savings. This result exceeded both the initial ZAR2.0 billion target and the revised ZAR2.5 billion goal set at interims. It also nearly doubled the ZAR1.9 billion saved in FY24.
Despite these savings, organic trading profit declined by nine percent year-on-year. The increase in operating costs from Showmax during its peak investment year contributed significantly to this decline.
Stabilising position and divesting from insurance
Multichoice annual results reflect a return to a positive equity position. This turnaround resulted from three key developments. These included strong cost savings, a stabilisation of key currencies, and an accounting gain from selling 60 percent of the group’s insurance business NMSIS to Sanlam.
Mixed results amid macro-economic pressure
The group’s overall performance showed both strengths and weaknesses. A strained consumer environment, combined with ongoing foreign currency and economic pressures, negatively affected results. However, these were countered by accelerated cost saving measures and effective cash flow management.
Linear subscribers dropped by 1.2 million or eight percent year-on-year, reducing the base to 14.5 million active subscribers. This decline was evenly split between South Africa and the Rest of Africa, with 600,000 fewer subscribers in each region. While this marks an improvement over FY24 trends, it reflects sustained pressure across the group’s customer base.
By contrast, Showmax reported a 44 percent increase in active paying subscribers. This demonstrates healthy growth and a gain in regional market share.
Revenue and trading profit pressures
Group revenue fell by ZAR5.2 billion or nine percent year-on-year, ending at ZAR50.8 billion. The key drivers included an 11 percent drop in subscription revenues and the deconsolidation of the NMSIS insurance business in December 2024.
Foreign currency effects and reduced subscriber volumes weighed heavily. However, inflationary pricing and new product growth, including DStv Internet, DStv Stream, and Extra Stream, provided partial relief.
Trading profit declined by ZAR3.8 billion or 49 percent year-on-year, reaching ZAR4.0 billion. This performance was negatively influenced by a ZAR2.3 billion increase in Showmax trading losses and ZAR5.2 billion in foreign currency revenue losses. Cost savings of ZAR3.7 billion partially offset these challenges.
Earnings, cash flow and capital management
Adjusted core headline earnings shifted to a loss of ZAR0.8 billion. This represents a reversal from earnings of ZAR1.3 billion in FY24. The decrease resulted from lower trading profit and hedging losses in FY25. These losses compared to gains in FY24. Smaller losses on cash remittances from Nigeria partially mitigated the impact.
The group recorded a free cash outflow of ZAR0.5 billion in FY25. In FY24, the group reported an inflow of ZAR0.6 billion. The outflow in the current year was driven by reduced profitability and higher lease repayments. These were partially offset by improvements in working capital and a 29 percent year-on-year reduction in capital expenditure.
At year-end, the group held ZAR5.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents. It also maintained access to ZAR3.0 billion in undrawn general borrowing facilities. Additionally, ZAR0.9 billion in proceeds from the NMSIS transaction was used to make an early repayment on a portion of the ZAR12.0 billion term loan. This repayment amounted to ZAR1.2 billion net of tax.
Currency exposure and organic adjustments
The group operates across multiple African and international markets. This creates substantial exposure to foreign exchange volatility. The impact is most evident in the Rest of Africa, where revenues are earned in local currencies and costs are largely denominated in US dollars.
To better reflect underlying trends, the group made adjustments for currency effects, discontinued products, acquisitions, and disposals. These non-International Financial Reporting Standards performance measures are referred to as organic results. They provide a clearer view of operational performance and feature prominently in the Multichoice annual results reporting.
The company’s external auditor did not review or report on any forecasts in this announcement.
Leadership changes and board transition
Effective 1 April 2024, Elias Masilela became Deputy Chair and Lead Independent Director. Jim Volkwyn stepped down from the LID role but remained on the board as a non-executive director until the August 2024 Annual General Meeting. At that point, he chose not to stand for re-election.
Encouraging progress on the Canal Plus transaction during April 2024 led to further leadership changes. Imtiaz Patel stepped down from his position as Chair and exited the board. As planned in the September 2023 succession announcement, Elias Masilela succeeded him.
The board expressed its sincere thanks to both Imtiaz Patel and Jim Volkwyn for their many years of valuable service to the group.
Dividend position
In line with commitments outlined in the Cooperation Agreement with Canal Plus, as published in the Combined Offer Circular on 4 June 2024, no dividend has been declared. This decision aligns with the group’s strategic priorities at this stage.
Annual Results Announcement
