FILE PHOTO: Prosus' logo is pictured on a smartphone in front of the stock graph displayed in this illustration taken, December 4, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
(Reuters) -Dutch technology investor Prosus reported on Monday a 47% jump in full-year core earnings to $7.4 billion, exceeding its financial targets, driven by its expansion into food delivery and e-commerce.
Owned by South Africa's Naspers, Prosus is transforming from an investment group to a technology company running such services as food delivery, fintech and ride sharing, a change in strategy a BofA analyst said could shift its investment case.
Prosus announced in late February an agreement to buy Just Eat Takeaway for 4.1 billion euros ($4.72 billion) to create a "European tech champion" of food delivery.
CFO Nico Marais said the company has secured all approvals for the deal except from the European Commission, the EU's antitrust authority. Prosus filed for the Commission's approval last Friday.
"We will still make minority investments where it makes sense," Marais told Reuters.
Prosus' e-commerce revenue grew 21% to $6.2 billion, driven by advances in artificial intelligence and innovation, as it continued to expand in Latin America, Europe, and India.
For the first time in its history, the company's free cash flow, excluding the dividend it receives on its holding in Tencent, was positive, climbing to $36 million from negative $235 million in the last financial year.
"We expect this momentum to continue, and to add at least the same level of incremental adjusted EBIT in the full year of 2026", Marais said in the results statement.
Asked about potential plans to increase its stake in Delivery Hero or lobby for a merger with Just Eat Takeaway.com, he said that the company was focusing on finalising the JustEat transaction.
Prosus is also putting on hold plans to float its PayU payments India business in this year, and instead will concentrate on organic improvement.
"(Listing) is not going to be our focus in the next year. Our focus is actually going to be to improve that business. It needs to grow at a healthy rate, but we also need to improve its profitability and free cash flow generation over the next six to twelve months", Marais said.
He added that the company will reassess whether listing could be an option.
($1 = 0.8685 euros)
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk; Additional reporting by Nqobile Dludla in Johannesburg; Editing by Sonali Paul and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
