Dear shareholder

In last year's letter, we flagged several anticipated headwinds - rising inflation, higher interest rates, increased geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and stock market volatility. Little did we realise just how much some of these would come to affect consumers globally, and more pointedly those in the 50 markets across the African continent where we operate.

FY23 brought its fair share of challenges. Despite this, the executive team delivered a commendable performance. Navigating a tough operating environment and dealing with many uncertainties, including the devastating impact of loadshedding on South African households, was no easy task. The Rest of Africa business returned to profitability and the MultiChoice Group team concluded key transactions that will come to shape the future of our group in years to come. True vision requires conviction and belief in a long-term outcome and balancing this against short-term gains is a very difficult task. Calvo and his team have demonstrated their belief in building long-term shareholder value by putting in place the necessary building blocks. They have the backing of the board. We believe strongly in the Africa of the future as a key market where global players will clamour to participate in years to come. We are demonstrating our conviction by investing now and, if the team executes well, this will no doubt result in a very positive outcome. We are grateful for their efforts, and for the ongoing commitment and delivery from all the teams across our business who work tirelessly each day to continue bringing our customers a 'world of more'.

We know that we need to play to our strengths – which is local content and sport – and we realise that, when it comes to streaming, we need to carefully consider pricing and broadband affordability. We also understand that we need to double-down where others retreat.

The most exciting of these opportunities in the near term is our partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal and Sky to re-launch Showmax and grow it into the leading streaming platform on the continent. This is a bold initiative and demonstrates our belief in the future, as well as our innovative and entrepreneurial 'DNA' as a company. We cannot ignore the fact that streaming is the future of video and that the habit has been developed and will not reverse. It is where the consumer is going, and we therefore need to be there too. We are lucky in that we have the benefit of hindsight and global streaming precedents have taught us not to chase growth at all costs without considering sustainable profitability. We know that we need to play to our strengths - which is local content and sport – and we realise that we need to carefully consider pricing and broadband affordability. We also understand that we need to double-down where others retreat, as Africa is our home turf, and we know how it works and what it takes to succeed. We are very proud of all the successes that the Showmax team has achieved since its initial launch and, with the support of great global partners, the benefit of the world-class Peacock platform, and a team of committed and talented employees, we are set to achieve even greater success in future.

As a group, we measure success not only in terms of executing on our strategy and building shareholder value, but also in terms of enriching lives. We strive to do this by continuing to enhance our value proposition for our customers, by developing the skills of our employees and creating a stimulating, forward-looking work environment for them, by supporting industry growth to the benefit or our partners and suppliers and, ultimately, by uplifting the communities we serve through providing employment, through our tax contributions and through our carefully considered CSI initiatives.

Looking at the year ahead, we remain gravely concerned about the debilitating impact of loadshedding on South Africa. We believe the problem can be fixed and are confident that with technological solutions and political will, the damage done can be reversed, putting us on a growth trajectory again. However, it is critical for action to be taken urgently. The current situation is impacting the profitability of our South African business and - much to our dismay - is therefore also affecting the poorest of the poor who depend so heavily on our Phuthuma Nathi dividends. It is also having a devastating effect on the many small and medium businesses in our value chain.

In the coming months, we look forward to the launch of SuperSportBet in South Africa, to Moment launching and achieving meaningful traction in the fintech space and to Showmax relaunching as it strives to become the most-loved streaming brand on the continent.

We are now competing in a truly global playing field! While management is focused on delivering to the best of their abilities, we also call on the support of the various regulatory regimes across our footprint to create a level playing field so that we can remain competitive. As a board, we remain confident about the ability of our executive leadership and their teams to excel. To remain successful in the future, we need to execute well, embrace change, keep innovating and continue to bring 'the magic' to the millions of Africans that we call 'our customers'.

Imtiaz Patel
Chair of the board