Nico Marais has been appointed as the permanent Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of both Naspers and Prosus

Naspers and Prosus appoints Nico Marais as CFO, making an important move for both companies. Naspers Limited, a big South African technology investor, and its European-listed company Prosus have chosen Nico Marais to be their permanent Chief Financial Officer. This means Nico Marais will now be in charge of managing the money and finances for both Naspers and Prosus. He has been doing this job temporarily since December 2024, after the previous CFO, Basil Sgourdos, retired. The boards of both companies agreed together to make Nico Marais the permanent CFO.

Nico Marais is 51 years old and has worked with Naspers for more than 25 years. He knows the company very well and has a lot of experience in finance. Because of this, Naspers and Prosus appoints Nico Marais with confidence that he will help the companies grow even more. Koos Bekker, who is the chairman of both Naspers and Prosus, said that Nico brings valuable knowledge and experience. He also said that Nico works very well with the CEO, Fabricio Bloisi, which is good for the future of the companies.

Naspers and Prosus are very big players in the technology world. They own parts of well-known companies like Tencent in China, Delivery Hero in Europe, and Swiggy in India. Prosus was created from Naspers and started trading on the Amsterdam stock market in 2019. Recently, Prosus made a lot more money-its core earnings went up by 74% to $3.5 billion in the six months ending September 2024. Naspers also made more money, with earnings rising from $866 million to $1.5 billion in the same period. This shows that both companies are doing well financially.

Naspers and Prosus appoints Nico Marais as CFO

Nico Marais has done many important jobs at Naspers before becoming CFO. He helped list Prosus on the stock market in Amsterdam and worked on simplifying the complicated ownership between Naspers and Prosus. He also helped with a program to buy back shares from investors, which helps increase the value for shareholders. Plus, he has been involved in managing the company’s debt and financial plans. Because of all this, Naspers and Prosus appoints Nico Marais knowing he is ready to lead their finances.

Nico Marais said he is excited about the future. He expects Prosus to make $6.2 billion in revenue for the full year, with growth of more than 20%. He pointed out that their e-commerce business is growing fast, with sales reaching $3 billion. He will join the Naspers board right away and will join the Prosus board after the shareholders approve it at their meeting in August 2025.

This change in leadership comes after Basil Sgourdos, who was CFO for almost 30 years, retired. Basil helped Naspers grow from a local media company into a global technology giant. Now, under CEO Fabricio Bloisi, who started in July 2024, Naspers and Prosus are focusing more on making their e-commerce businesses profitable and exploring new areas like artificial intelligence, fintech, and food delivery.

Analysts believe that Naspers and Prosus appoints Nico Marais as CFO to keep things steady and use his experience to help the companies grow. With a big fund of $20 billion to invest in Europe and plans to list more companies soon, the future looks bright. Nico Marais’s leadership will be important as Naspers and Prosus continue their journey as major players in the tech world.

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