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Joshua Fagbemi
Guest
MultiChoice South Africa and Showmax Chief Executive Officer, Marc Jury has resigned from his position. Jury, who was appointed to the post 18 months ago will leave the company at the end of March 2025.
According to a letter sent to MultiChoice Group staff on Friday, CEO Calvo Mawela said Jury, who has been with the group for the past 10 years “is leaving to pursue opportunities in the business of sport, a field that has always been close to his heart”. Prior to his appointment as the position, he was the CEO of SuperSport between 2020 and 2023.
Mawela acknowledged the impact of Jury’s efforts in the group and announced Byron du Plessis as his successor. “While we are sad to see him go, we are immensely proud of the legacy he leaves behind and are grateful for the contributions he has made to the business.
“Marc will continue to work closely with us over the next four months to ensure a seamless handover to his successor, Byron du Plessis, who will step into the role of CEO: MCSA on 1 December 2024, which marks the beginning of the handover.”
Bryon currently serves as MultiChoice Group’s deputy chief financial officer. He has been with the group for the past 13 years. According to Mawela, Du Plessis has driven various strategic initiatives and partnerships including the ongoing acquisition process around the Canal+ bid to buy MultiChoice.
Recall that Multichoice is in ongoing talks for acquisition by French media giant Canal+ in a $3 billion offer. This is to expand Multichoice services to Francophone Africa where Canal+ dominates. The deal awaits approval after Multichoice accepts the shares buyout in June of this year.
MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela
Malewa added that together with his new role as head of MultiChoice South Africa, Bryon will also render support for the group at large. “
As CEO, Byron will focus on driving growth, enhancing execution, and fostering a winning culture for the South African business and its integrated product suite. Byron will continue to support MultiChoice Group CFO Tim Jacobs on key strategic projects at a group level but his primary focus will be on the South African business,” he said.
Marc Jury’s resignation comes at a time when MultiChoice faces some of the most difficult trading conditions it has ever experienced. In a recent trading statement, the group described the operating environment as “the most challenging in the group’s history.”
Last week, the group lost about 1.8 million subscribers in the African markets. The South African satellite provider’s loss was owing to free-to-air alternatives and economic declination across the continent.
The Pay TV company’s subscription fell by 18% in Nigeria. In other African countries, it dipped by 8% and 19% in Angola and Kenya respectively. It also experienced the highest fall in Zambia, with a 60% decline.
The drop in its subscriber base was attributed to the rise in the DSTV and Gotv subscription packages across the region. This resulted in a 10% revenue decline. Also, the financial half-year of the group recorded 1.8 billion rand (N163.1 billion) which was accustomed to currency depreciation in Nigeria, interest expenses, and other inflationary pressures.
Also in its financial statement, Multichoice reported a huge decline. The company recorded a 99% decline in its half-year profit. The satellite TV provider has tagged the operating environment as “extremely hostile.“
The DStv, SuperSport, and Showmax owner, whose Pay TV business operates across 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said its performance was majorly affected by weaker local currencies. It also pointed out that constrained consumer spending particularly in Nigeria and extreme power disruptions in Zambia marred its headline loss.
“The first half of the 2024 financial year was negatively impacted by severe pressure in the macroeconomic, foreign exchange rate, and consumer environment in key markets, most notably Nigeria and Zambia,” the company said.
Multichoice expressed that its adjusted core headline earnings per share fell to 2 cents per share for the six months ended Sept. 30. This is from 356 cents per share last year. It added that subscriptions fell by 5% in South Africa and 15% across other parts of Africa where it operates.
On revenue, the group’s earnings fell by 10% to 25.4 billion rand ($1.41 billion) on a reported basis. However, it grew by 4% on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange effects, mergers, and acquisitions.
Read More: Multichoice suffers huge fall, loses 1.8 million subscribers across Africa.
According to a letter sent to MultiChoice Group staff on Friday, CEO Calvo Mawela said Jury, who has been with the group for the past 10 years “is leaving to pursue opportunities in the business of sport, a field that has always been close to his heart”. Prior to his appointment as the position, he was the CEO of SuperSport between 2020 and 2023.
Mawela acknowledged the impact of Jury’s efforts in the group and announced Byron du Plessis as his successor. “While we are sad to see him go, we are immensely proud of the legacy he leaves behind and are grateful for the contributions he has made to the business.
“Marc will continue to work closely with us over the next four months to ensure a seamless handover to his successor, Byron du Plessis, who will step into the role of CEO: MCSA on 1 December 2024, which marks the beginning of the handover.”
Bryon currently serves as MultiChoice Group’s deputy chief financial officer. He has been with the group for the past 13 years. According to Mawela, Du Plessis has driven various strategic initiatives and partnerships including the ongoing acquisition process around the Canal+ bid to buy MultiChoice.
Recall that Multichoice is in ongoing talks for acquisition by French media giant Canal+ in a $3 billion offer. This is to expand Multichoice services to Francophone Africa where Canal+ dominates. The deal awaits approval after Multichoice accepts the shares buyout in June of this year.
MultiChoice Group CEO Calvo Mawela
Malewa added that together with his new role as head of MultiChoice South Africa, Bryon will also render support for the group at large. “
As CEO, Byron will focus on driving growth, enhancing execution, and fostering a winning culture for the South African business and its integrated product suite. Byron will continue to support MultiChoice Group CFO Tim Jacobs on key strategic projects at a group level but his primary focus will be on the South African business,” he said.
Marc Jury’s resignation: more salt to Multichoice’s injury
Marc Jury’s resignation comes at a time when MultiChoice faces some of the most difficult trading conditions it has ever experienced. In a recent trading statement, the group described the operating environment as “the most challenging in the group’s history.”
Last week, the group lost about 1.8 million subscribers in the African markets. The South African satellite provider’s loss was owing to free-to-air alternatives and economic declination across the continent.
The Pay TV company’s subscription fell by 18% in Nigeria. In other African countries, it dipped by 8% and 19% in Angola and Kenya respectively. It also experienced the highest fall in Zambia, with a 60% decline.
The drop in its subscriber base was attributed to the rise in the DSTV and Gotv subscription packages across the region. This resulted in a 10% revenue decline. Also, the financial half-year of the group recorded 1.8 billion rand (N163.1 billion) which was accustomed to currency depreciation in Nigeria, interest expenses, and other inflationary pressures.
Also in its financial statement, Multichoice reported a huge decline. The company recorded a 99% decline in its half-year profit. The satellite TV provider has tagged the operating environment as “extremely hostile.“
The DStv, SuperSport, and Showmax owner, whose Pay TV business operates across 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, said its performance was majorly affected by weaker local currencies. It also pointed out that constrained consumer spending particularly in Nigeria and extreme power disruptions in Zambia marred its headline loss.
“The first half of the 2024 financial year was negatively impacted by severe pressure in the macroeconomic, foreign exchange rate, and consumer environment in key markets, most notably Nigeria and Zambia,” the company said.
Multichoice expressed that its adjusted core headline earnings per share fell to 2 cents per share for the six months ended Sept. 30. This is from 356 cents per share last year. It added that subscriptions fell by 5% in South Africa and 15% across other parts of Africa where it operates.
On revenue, the group’s earnings fell by 10% to 25.4 billion rand ($1.41 billion) on a reported basis. However, it grew by 4% on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange effects, mergers, and acquisitions.
Read More: Multichoice suffers huge fall, loses 1.8 million subscribers across Africa.