The slump in tech weighed on the first-half performance of Prosus (GB:0A28)(PROSF), a leading investor in early-stage technology companies. Prosus, in which Naspers is a majority shareholder, saw the group’s trading profit decline by 37% in the first half of Fiscal 2023. Further, the company’s core headline earnings dropped by 60%.
Pick the best stocks and maximize your portfolio:
- Discover top-rated stocks from highly ranked analysts with Analyst Top Stocks!
- Easily identify outperforming stocks and invest smarter with Top Smart Score Stocks
On a consolidated basis, the company’s e-commerce revenue grew 33%. However, trading losses widened to $449 million. The strong growth in the e-commerce business was offset by the weakness in Tencent Holdings (TCEHY).
Its CFO, Vasileios Sgourdos, said that the company was not immune to the challenges in the tech sectors and recorded impairments worth $1.5 billion in its listed assets and a few private investments.
Investors should note that impairments are not included in trading profit and core headline earnings.
Nevertheless, Prosus expects profitability to improve from here, reflecting the benefits of its cost-reduction investment programs.
Further, its balance sheet remains strong, positioning it well to capitalize on growth opportunities.
Is Prosus Stock a Good Buy?
Prosus stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating on TipRanks based on seven Buys and two Holds. Moreover, analysts’ average price target of €81.76 implies 41.4% upside potential.
While analysts are bullish about Prosus stock, our data shows that insiders sold its stock worth $36.8M last quarter. Given the tech sector slump, Prosus stock lost about 22% of its value in 2022.
