Prosus, the global technology investor majority-owned by South Africa's Naspers, has reported a sharp rise in profits as it advances a transformation strategy at Just Eat Takeaway.com, the takeaway delivery specialist it acquired for £3.6 billion late last year.
On Monday, the group told shareholders that adjusted earnings grew by 84% to 1.3 billion US dollars (£1 billion) over the past year. The company said it is overseeing an “operational turnaround” at Just Eat Takeaway, focusing on a cultural shift aligned with the new owner, accelerating technology, and sharpening its market focus.
Just Eat Takeaway Performance Post-Acquisition
In the six months since the acquisition, Just Eat Takeaway delivered revenues of 1.9 billion dollars (£1.44 billion). It also reported adjusted earnings of 83 million dollars (£62.8 million) over the same period. Prosus noted positive early signs from its transformation approach, with “order growth of up to 25%” through a pilot programme in selected cities.
Broader Group Growth and AI Investment
Prosus, which also owns Brazilian food ordering platform iFood and Dutch online marketplace OLX, saw group revenues rise 57% over the past year, boosted by acquisitions. The company is targeting significant growth through AI investment and has developed its own version of artificial intelligence agent OpenClaw, though it has faced data privacy concerns in Europe.
Executive Commentary
Nico Marais, chief finance officer of Prosus, said: “These results reflect the discipline of our teams and the compounding effect of consistent execution. Looking ahead, we are deploying capital by investing in iFood and Just Eat Takeaway to strengthen our food ecosystem, continuing our buyback programme, and actively building Prosus Plus.”
Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive of Prosus, added: “At Prosus we are building something fundamentally different, an AI-powered lifestyle ecosystem that gets smarter and stronger with every interaction. Eighteen months ago, this was a vision. Today, the integrated ecosystem is a reality, and it’s scaling fast.”
