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Johannesburg - Internet and media firm Naspers [JSE:NPN]
said on Tuesday it expects full-year earnings to climb by as much as 20%,
disappointing investors who had been betting on stronger growth.
Naspers, an emerging markets-focused company that has stakes
in leading Chinese and Russian internet firms, said in a statement it expects
to report a 10% to 20% increase in core headline earnings per share for the
year to end-March.
The company considers core headline EPS, which excludes
certain one-time items, to be the best indicator of its operating profit. Core
headline EPS totalled 1 426 cents in the previous year.
Shares of the company dropped sharply, indicating investors
had likely hoped for stronger growth this year. Shares were down 3.2% at R374.75 in Tuesday afternoon trade.
Naspers has avoided the media industry's sharp decline by
focusing on technology and emerging markets. It holds 30% in Tencent Holdings,
China's biggest internet firm, and a stake in Russia’s Mail.ru.
* Fin24 is a Naspers publication.
