MultiChoice loses 243,000 Nigerian subscribers in 6 months

Multichoice Group has declared that its Nigerian subsidiary lost 243,000 subscribers across its DStv and GOtv services between April and September 2024.

Multichoice announced this in its financial result for the year ended September 30, 2024, a copy of which was released on Tuesday, November 12.

The entertainment company disclosed that Zambia (298,000) and Nigeria (243,000) recorded the largest share of subscriber loss, adding that the high cost of food, electricity, and petrol forced many of its customers to ditch their decoders.

MultiChoice said the pressure on its subscriber base in Rest of Africa (RoA) operations continued from the previous year leading to a loss of 566,000 subscribers across the operations in the six months under review.

It stated: “The group’s linear subscriber base declined by 11% or 1.8 million subscribers YoY to 14.9 million active subscribers on 30 September 2024.

“The loss in the Rest of Africa has been primarily due to the significant consumer pressure in Nigeria, where inflation has remained above 30% for the majority of the last 12 months and, more recently, due to extreme power disruptions in Zambia.

“Of this decline, 298,000 related to Zambia and 243,000 related to Nigeria, with remaining markets on the continent reflecting only a minor decline of 25,000.”

MultiChoice further lamented that the continued naira depreciation against the dollar in the foreign exchange market has resulted in further losses on non-quasi-equity loans.

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“The group held $11 million in cash in Nigeria at period-end, down from $39 million at end FY24, a consequence of consistent focus on remitting cash, the impact of translating the balance at the weaker naira and the write-off of the $21 million receivable relating to the cash held with Heritage Bank before its license was revoked and the bank was liquidated,” the company added.

Speaking on the results, the Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Group, Calvo Mawela, said the company has been facing its most challenging operating conditions for almost 40 years.

Mawela added that MultiChoice has been proactive in the company’s focus to right-size the business for the current economic realities and industry changes.

He said: “We are making good progress in addressing the technical insolvency that resulted from non-cash accounting entries at the end of the last financial year.

“We expect to return to a positive net equity position by the end of November this year, supported by a number of developments and initiatives.

“The Group’s liquidity position remains strong, with over ZAR10bn in total available funds.”

The Star