Naspers said it would retrench staff, slash capital expenditure and close down non-performing titles at its newspapers and magazines business, which remained subdued with revenues growing only 4 percent to R3.1 billion, writes Thabiso Mochiko in Business Report.
The media industry is experiencing a slowdown in advertising spend as firms cut their budgets. Naspers said advertising revenue had come under pressure, but comprised only 16 percent of the group's total revenue of R12.6 billion and had a relatively small effect on aggregated results.
"In light of depressed macroeconomic conditions, costs are being cut and head count reduced … Prudent capital expenditure disciplines are also in place," it said.
Francois Groepe, the head of Naspers's print media business, said the group would "slash costs to the bone". The division's operating profit grew 21 percent to R283 million.
He said so far the company had cut a number of contract workers, but would not comment on how many jobs were at risk.
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