Sharenet Sites 
Sharenet Sites
NASIONALE PERS BEPERK REGISTRATION NUMBER 04/01431/06
AUDITED RESULTS FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED 31 MARCH 1998 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
1998 1997 %
R'000 R'000 CHANGE
TURNOVER 1 931 903 1 725 911 12 NET OPERATING INCOME
BEFORE DEPRECIATION 253 473 271 183 (7)
LESS DEPRECIATION (70 537) (51 856)
LESS FINANCING COST (26 789) 5 533
PLUS INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS 29 346 27 648
INCOME BEFORE ABNORMAL ITEMS 185 493 252 508 (27)
ABNORMAL ITEMS 3 663 (703)
INCOME BEFORE TAXATION 189 156 251 805 (25)
LESS TAXATION 72 073 87 977
NET INCOME FOR THE YEAR 117 083 163 828 (29) ATTRIBUTABLE TO
OUTSIDE SHAREHOLDERS 1 322 (387) NASPERS SHAREHOLDERS' INTEREST IN THE GROUP'S NET
INCOME FOR THE YEAR 118 405 163 441 (28) PLUS SHARE IN ASSOCIATED COMPANIES' NET INCOME
FOR THE YEAR (22 178) 510 880 TOTAL NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO
NASPERS SHAREHOLDERS 96 227 674 321 ABRIDGED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
1998 1997
R'000 R'000 CAPITAL EMPLOYED
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 1 012 156 990 609
OUTSIDE SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 2 947 3 194
GENERAL PROVISIONS 82 838 82 838
LONG-TERM LOANS 161 095 184 471
DEFERRED TAXATION 35 176 28 969
SHORT-TERM LOANS 35 713 175 250
BANK OVERDRAFTS 102 917 56 301
1 432 842 1 521 632 EMPLOYMENT OF CAPITAL
FIXED ASSETS 437 937 417 127
INVESTMENTS 581 595 506 261
CURRENT ASSETS, EXCLUDING CASH 682 537 634 559
CASH RESOURCES 62 303 282 801
TOTAL ASSETS 1 764 372 1 840 748
CURRENT LIABILITIES (331 530) (319 116)
1 432 842 1 521 632 ABRIDGED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
1998 1997
R'000 R'000 CASH INFLOW FROM
OPERATING ACTIVITIES 122 542 171 239 CASH UTILISED IN
INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES (229 576) (277 146) CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING
ACTIVITIES (160 080) 228 486
NET (DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH (267 114) 122 579
CASH AT BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 226 500 103 921
CASH AT THE END OF THE YEAR (40 614) 226 500 CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR'S ANNUAL OVERVIEW
THE PAST YEAR WAS CHARACTERISED BY GROWTH IN A NUMBER OF AREAS, AND THE GROUP'S TURNOVER INCREASED BY 12% TO NEARLY R2 BILLION. PROFITS AFTER TAX, HOWEVER, DROPPED BY ABOUT R45 MILLION (28%) TO R118,4 MILLION. THIS IS CLOSE TO THE FIGURE PREDICTED IN A RECENT PROFIT WARNING TO SHAREHOLDERS.
THE GROUP'S INTEREST IN THE NET LOSSES OF ASSOCIATED COMPANIES AMOUNTED TO R22 MILLION. DUE TO A ONCE-OFF PROFIT ACCRUING FROM THE SALE OF MIHH'S NETHOLD INTERESTS LAST YEAR, THE RESULTS FOR THE TWO YEARS ARE NOT COMPARABLE. THE GROUP'S BALANCE SHEET WAS FURTHER STRENGTHENED, WITH SHAREHOLDER INTEREST INCREASING FROM R991 MILLION TO R1 012 MILLION. THE NET ASSET VALUE PER SHARE ROSE FROM 886C TO 905C. THE INTEREST-BEARING DEBT RATIO COMPARED TO SHAREHOLDERS' VALUE, AMOUNTED TO 23%.
NASPERS' FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF THE CHAOS IN THE EDUCATIONAL FIELD, DISTORTING CONSOLIDATED RESULTS. DUE TO THE GROUP'S DIVERSIFIED INTERESTS, THIS SETBACK COULD BE ABSORBED TO SOME EXTENT BY GOOD PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE. EXCELLENT YEAR FOR NEWSPAPERS
IN THE NEWSPAPER DIVISION THE AFRIKAANS DAILIES EXPERIENCED AN EXCELLENT YEAR. CIRCULATION GROWTH WAS STEADY, WHILE ADVERTISING REVENUE SHOWED A HEALTHY INCREASE. INDICATIONS ARE THAT THIS PERFORMANCE CAN BE SUSTAINED. PLANNING FOR THE RENEWAL OF OUR NEWSPAPER PRINTING PRESSES IN JOHANNESBURG, CAPE TOWN AND PORT ELIZABETH AND OUR OFFICE PREMISES IN JOHANNESBURG ARE IN AN ADVANCED STAGE. ORDERS FOR ADDITIONAL PRINTING PRESSES AND RELATED EQUIPMENT HAVE BEEN PLACED AND WILL BE DELIVERED NEXT YEAR.
THE PERFORMANCE OF THE MAGAZINE DIVISION WAS SATISFACTORY. THERE WERE, HOWEVER, NEW ENTRIES IN CERTAIN SECTORS OF THIS MARKET, AND THE GLUT OF TITLES WILL PROBABLY BE REDUCED GRADUALLY BY MARKET FORCES.
THE BOOK PUBLISHING DIVISION WAS HARD-HIT BY THE EDUCATION DEBACLE. NO SIGNIFICANT TEXTBOOK ORDERS WERE RECEIVED FROM SCHOOLS AND PROVINCIAL
DEPARTMENTS, CAUSING THE ENTIRE EDUCATION PUBLISHING INDUSTRY TO GRIND TO A HALT. PUBLISHERS WERE LUMBERED WITH BOOKS THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN PREPARED AND PRINTING PRESSES CAME TO A STANDSTILL. THE IMPACT WAS FELT NATIONALLY, RESULTING IN STAFF RETRENCHMENTS AND THE WITHDRAWAL OF COMPANIES, WHICH IN TURN LED TO THE CLOSE-DOWN OF A LARGE SECTION OF THE EDUCATION PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AFRICA OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS.
PLANNING UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES IS DIFFICULT. WE ASSUME, HOWEVER, THAT EDUCATION IS SIMPLY TOO IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY FOR THE CURRENT CHAOTIC SITUATION TO CONTINUE. THE RECOVERY OF THE INDUSTRY WILL PROBABLY NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, BUT COULD TAKE PLACE OVER A NUMBER OF YEARS. DEPRECIATION OF FIXED ASSETS INCREASED FROM R52 MILLION TO R70 MILLION, MAINLY BECAUSE NEW EQUIPMENT, ESPECIALLY AT THE MAGAZINE PRINTING WORKS, BECAME FULLY OPERATIONAL IN THE PAST YEAR. NET FINANCING COSTS INCREASED TO R27 MILLION, MAINLY AS A RESULT OF CAPITAL PROJECTS WHICH HAVE NOW BEEN ACCOUNTED FOR IN FULL. FINANCING OF THESE PROJECTS HAS BEEN STRUCTURED IN SUCH A WAY THAT ITS NEGATIVE IMPACT IS LIMITED TO A FEW YEARS.
THE BOARD RECOMMENDED THAT, IN VIEW OF THE OPERATIONAL RESULTS OF THE
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS AND POSSIBLE FURTHER INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE MEDIUM TERM, THE DIVIDEND REMAINS UNCHANGED AT 20C PER "N" SHARE AND THAT, AS USUAL, NO DIVIDEND BE DECLARED ON A SHARES. ASSOCIATES
ASSOCIATED COMPANIES GREW ON A WIDE FRONT. M-NET ACHIEVED GREAT SUCCESS WITH ITS PHUTHUMA SHARES SCHEME. PRESENTLY M-NET IS THE JSE SHARE WITH THE LARGEST NUMBER OF BLACK SHAREHOLDERS. SUPERSPORT WAS LISTED AS A LINKED SHARE WITH M-NET THIS YEAR.
MIH GREW AND M-CELL DELIVERED A SOLID PERFORMANCE AS A RESULT OF THE GROWTH OF MTN. M-WEB, A NEW INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER, GREW RAPIDLY TO MORE THAN 45 000 SUBSCRIBERS, AND WAS LISTED AS A LINKED SHARE WITH MIHH.
TON VOSLOO KOOS BEKKER
CHAIRMAN MANAGING DIRECTOR STATISTICS AND RATIOS
1998 1997
R'000 R'000 NUMBER OF SHARES ISSUED
"A" SHARES 712 131 712 131
"N" SHARES 111 813 989 111 813 989
EARNINGS PER "N" SHARE 86C 603C
HEADLINE EARNINGS PER "N" SHARE 83C 124C
EFFECTIVE TAX RATE 38,2% 34,9%
DIVIDEND PER "N" SHARE 20C 20C
CURRENT ASSETS: LIABILITIES 1,6/1 1,7/1
SHAREHOLDERS' INTEREST PER SHARE 905 886
