MultiChoice Group Ltd., Africa’s largest pay-TV company, has reported its third consecutive semi-annual loss, attributing the financial challenges to foreign exchange difficulties in Nigeria and persistent power outages in South Africa. Despite securing a significant gain in the African streaming market, effectively overtaking Netflix as the leader, the company faced substantial setbacks in its financial performance.

In a filing, MultiChoice disclosed a net loss of 1.32 billion rand ($72.4 million) for the six months ending Sept. 30. The company cited the poor performance of the Nigerian Naira against the dollar as a primary cause for the recorded loss. The challenges stemmed from Nigeria’s mid-June decision to allow the Naira to trade more freely against the dollar, leading to a 40% devaluation. This compelled MultiChoice to revalue inter-group loans, resulting in substantial foreign exchange losses.

Despite adding 1.4 million new subscribers in the previous financial year, subscriber growth in the Rest of Africa slowed down during the specified period. Factors contributing to this slowdown included inflationary pressures in key markets like Nigeria, following previous patterns seen after major football events such as the FIFA World Cup or northern hemisphere football off-season.

While the Rest of Africa segment’s active subscriber base remained stable at 8.9 million subscribers, subscription revenues witnessed a 14% organic growth. However, revenue of ZAR10.5 billion remained flat, with a weaker ZAR against the USD offsetting the impact of weaker local currencies.

The RoA (Return on Assets) segment delivered a trading profit of ZAR330 million, a significant increase on an organic basis, attributed to cost interventions around decoder subsidies and content costs. However, weaker currencies significantly hindered profitability, with substantial negative impacts due to sharp falls in exchange rates against the USD.

In addition to currency challenges, South Africa experienced rolling blackouts, contributing to a 5% decline in the number of active days per subscriber. This exacerbation further impacted MultiChoice’s financial performance during the specified period.

The company’s financial statement reads partly: “After adding 1.4m new subscribers in FY23, subscriber growth in the Rest of Africa was more subdued in 1H FY24. This was due to the impact of inflationary pressures in key markets like Nigeria, and similar trends to previous periods which followed a FIFA World Cup or northern hemisphere football off-season.

“A total of 0.1m subscribers were added to end the period at 13.0m 90-day active subscribers. The active subscriber base was broadly stable at 8.9m subscribers and subscription revenues grew 14% organically. Revenue of ZAR10.5bn was flat (+13% organic) with a weaker ZAR against the USD on conversion, offsetting the impact of weaker local currencies relative to the USD.

“The RoA (return on assets) segment delivered a trading profit of ZAR330m (+ZAR2.2bn YoY on an organic basis) which was underpinned by specific cost interventions around decoder subsidies and content costs.

“Weaker currencies remained a significant impediment to improvements in profitability, with average first-half exchanges falling sharply against the USD.

“The sharp fall of the naira resulted in a large proportion of the previously recognised losses incurred on cash remittances now being recorded in trading profit. The net effect of these forex movements was a negative ZAR1.6bn impact on the segment’s trading profit for the period.”

Following these challenges, the company’s shares fell 0.6% in Johannesburg, after a plunge of as much as 3.6% to a record low. MultiChoice plans to relaunch its Showmax streaming service in the second half of the financial year and introduce a sports betting service in South Africa, inspired by a successful offering in Nigeria.

Despite financial woes, MultiChoice’s Showmax presently holds 40% of the continent’s streaming market, as per Omdia Research, showcasing its continued influence in the African entertainment landscape amid recent setbacks.

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, has urged the Federal Government to unveil the true financial state inherited from the previous administration led by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

This call comes in response to recent statements made by President Bola Tinubu, indicating that his government inherited both assets and deficits from the preceding administration; and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who claimed that the terrible economic situation that Nigerians are crying about, was bequeathed to the present administration by the past government.

In a statement released on X on Thursday, Obi challenged the government’s lack of transparency regarding the assets and deficits passed on to them. He highlighted the importance of accountability in governance, emphasizing that the disclosure of inherited deficits is crucial for the public to comprehend the nation’s current financial standing and future trajectory.

“One major characteristic of responsible governance is transparency and strict accountability. This demands that the government disclose exactly the degree of deficit they inherited. What is inherited should be disclosed to enable the public to know where we are and where we are headed,” he said.

Obi criticized the present administration’s claim of inheriting a financially distressed nation without providing specific details that justify the alleged bankruptcy status. He underscored that responsible governance necessitates transparency, insisting that the government should openly declare the extent of the deficits they inherited.

Drawing a parallel to the transition from the APC-led government in 2015, Obi criticized the lack of detailed disclosure regarding the inherited situation back then.

The former Anambra State governor also spoke about the alarming escalation of Nigeria’s debt profile during the previous administration, highlighting the increase from N12.6 trillion in 2015 to N87 trillion in 2023 without significant improvements in developmental indices such as education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and security. He lamented the deteriorating state of the country across various vital sectors, leading to the prevailing grim situation faced by Nigerians on a daily basis.

Obi stressed that Nigerians seek actionable steps and tangible improvements rather than mere statements on the state of affairs.

“Nigerians know things are bad, and they experience it daily. What they now want to hear regularly are measurable and verifiable steps to improve the situation. Also, the alarm raised by the government about the bad state of our finances raises questions about the rationale behind some expenditure items in the supplementary budget recently signed into law,” he said.

Obi questioned the justification behind certain expenditures outlined in the recently signed supplementary budget in light of the government’s claims of financial distress.

Moreover, the presidential candidate reiterated his longstanding stance on the exorbitant cost of governance, advocating for a substantial reduction. He suggested that a financially strained nation should prioritize investing available resources into critical sectors like security, healthcare, education, and poverty eradication, particularly by tackling youth unemployment.

Obi said there is a need for measurable and verifiable strategies aimed at uplifting the country from its current economic challenges, rather than allocating resources to non-essential areas.

“The present revelation also goes to buttress the argument that I have made since electioneering season that the cost of governance is too high and must be drastically reduced,” he said.

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During Microsoft’s Ignite conference in Seattle, CEO Satya Nadella clarified the company’s stance regarding its market strategy in China. Nadella highlighted that Microsoft’s primary focus lies outside China, targeting the global market excluding the country, citing a significant client base among Chinese multinationals operating internationally.

“We are mostly focused on the global market ex-China,” Nadella told CNBC during an interview with CNBC’s Jon Fortt at the conference. He emphasized that several prominent Chinese multinational corporations, operating beyond China’s borders, constitute major clients for Microsoft’s AI services.

Among Microsoft’s Chinese clientele are Li Auto, an electric vehicle manufacturer, and Xiaomi, a consumer electronics company, both leveraging Microsoft’s artificial intelligence offerings.

Nadella’s remarks surface amidst a gathering of business leaders in San Francisco, attended by both U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping. The complex business relationship between the world’s two largest economies, especially concerning technologies such as networking equipment, semiconductors, and internet services, remains a focal point of discussion.

The U.S. Commerce Department’s decision in October to impose additional export restrictions on AI chips for China underscores the ongoing tension between the nations in the technological sphere.

Microsoft, with a notable presence in China, stands apart from some of its counterparts. Unlike Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, which are not accessible in China, and Google’s search engine, which remains blocked, Microsoft’s Bing search engine has been operational in China since 2009.

While Bing briefly held the top spot as the desktop search engine in China following the introduction of an AI chatbot earlier this year, Beijing-based Baidu has since reclaimed its leadership, as per StatCounter data. Recently, Microsoft’s advertising division announced a partnership with Baidu.

Acknowledging the stringent regulations imposed by the U.S. government on conducting business in China, Nadella affirmed Microsoft’s commitment to compliance. He stressed the importance of adhering to the policy decisions made by the U.S. government concerning trade, competition, and national security.

Despite these nuances, just over half of Microsoft’s sales in the third quarter originated from clients in the U.S. Notably, the U.S. government extensively utilizes Microsoft Azure cloud services and Microsoft 365 productivity apps.

While China does not constitute a significant portion of Microsoft’s revenue, the company has relied on the country for manufacturing, particularly for its Surface PCs.

Nadella reiterated that the majority of Microsoft’s business is concentrated in the United States, Europe, and the rest of Asia, highlighting that potential disruptions in the supply chain pose a more considerable concern than any direct impact on revenue.

“At least for us, today, the majority of our business is in the United States and in Europe and in the rest of Asia, and so we don’t see this as a major, major issue for us, quite frankly, other than any disruption to supply chain,” Nadella said.

However, Microsoft has faced challenges in the Chinese market, including LinkedIn’s decision to cease operations of its InCareer app for professional users in mainland China due to intense competition and a challenging economic climate. Additionally, China’s directive for government entities to replace foreign-made PCs with domestically manufactured machines has posed hurdles for Microsoft.

I was in court today for a sensitive matter, in fact, the client I am defending has been in detention for months and there was a hope of getting him out on bail today, to my amazement, when I got to the court I was told by a court staff around that the court will not be seating today and I enquired for the reason why the court that just resumed from a long annual vacation will not be seating on a Wednesday morning when there is no public holiday that I am aware of and they said there is a nationwide strike initiated by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) because the NLC president was attacked by thugs and other security agents sometime last week, in Owerri, Imo state. 

How can I as a lawyer explain to my client who has been in detention that today we had hope of getting him out that the court will not seat and that he will have to still be in prison detention till the next adjournment date which is a month from now just because a private citizen was attacked? 

As a disclaimer, I’m not condoning the act of brutality meted out on Mr Joe Ajero, nobody deserved to be lynched, not even the NLC president who was mobbed by thugs who joined forces with some security agents in his line of duty but there are definitely other ways to settle these scores instead of putting the whole nation on standstill; put the economy on pause, put the education on break, the justice system on hold just because one person who happened to be the NLC was attacked by a mob. The other better way to handle this situation is to identify the perpetrators; they will be easy to catch since the act was captured on camera and let them be arrested and prosecuted for the crime. If found guilty let them be sent to jail for the crime of assault and inflicting grievous bodily harm on a citizen. This is the way to solve this and it is the only way I advocate for as a legal practitioner. 

Some banks were closed down today too, we have not had light since yesterday because the national grid is also shut down. Can you imagine the impact of this on the economy and on every other sector of Nigeria? 

How can you declare a total shutdown if not that we are unserious people in this nation where everything and anything goes? 

This same anyhow ness with no fear of repercussions motivated then President Olusegun Obasanjo to raze down an entire village in Bayelsa state on 20th of November 1999 just because a soldier was attacked by some persons in the village. Till date Obasanjo and his foot soldiers are yet to answer for the massacre they carried out in Odi village, in Bayelsa state 23 years ago. 

I totally understand the fact that the NLC had to go this route and take this drastic action in other to get the attention of the public and also that of the government on the matter but the NLC being a strong organization that can afford to hire any amount of lawyers to follow up the case until justice is done; they do not have to put the whole nation on a standstill on their quest for Justice; a wrong and a wrong will never make a right. 

It will be in the interest of everyone for the NLC to call off their nationwide industrial action since they have gotten the attention of the government they sought as the National Security Adviser’s office released a memo stating that they have captured some of the perpetrators that mobbed Mr Joe Ajero, the NLC president, last Wednesday in Owerri, Imo state.