MultiChoice: Subscriber Base Dip Reflects Difficult Consumer Environment
A business news item with some prominence last week was the interim financial results of the pay television company, MultiChoice Group, with Nigeria being one of its most significant markets. The most arresting item in the results is the announcement of the loss of 243,000 subscribers on MultiChoice’s DStv and GOtv services within the six months (April to September 2024) covered by the result released last week.
Also of public interest, albeit to a lesser extent domestically, is MultiChoice’s loss of 298,000 subscribers in its Zambian market, which was attributed to persistent power outages induced by drought. Although there were declines in the company’s other markets in the Rest of Africa (RoA) and South Africa, they were relatively low at 25% and 5%, respectively.
Also reflected in the results was the $21 million trapped in the distressed Heritage Bank, which has had its license revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This splurge of negative information understandably sparked a mix of reactions, notably wildly unreasoned but with a smattering of clear-headed ones. The previous analysis, which focused only on subscriber losses and the $21 million, ignored other aspects of the results and reached an apocalyptic conclusion.
That strain of analysis blamed the subscriber base decline on the tariffs charged by the company.It was indifferent to the local economic conditions, which have significantly diminished purchasing power not only among MultiChoice subscribers but also for users of other services and goods.
It could not have been otherwise, given that the country’s inflation rate has been consistently above 30% for over a year, with the latest figure of 33.88%. The inflationary pressures have been aggravated by the drastic and continuous dip in the value of the naira, which caused businesses, including MultiChoice, huge foreign exchange losses. The pay television company’s losses from a dollar-denominated intergroup loan stood at 2.1 billion Rands within the period covered by the results.
It is quite clear that during tough economic times, consumers reduce spending on non-essential items, the category into which pay television services are included. This is supported by the recent CBN Household Expectations Survey, which stated that at this time, Nigerians focus on food, household necessities, education, transportation, electricity, and medical care.
“The Buying Condition Index for high-ticket items like consumer durables, motor vehicles, and real estate suggests that most respondents believe the current month is unfavourable for purchasing these items. Additionally, consumers do not anticipate the next three to six months will be ideal for acquiring such products,” the report noted.
There is ample evidence that businesses are bleeding on account of the rough economic weather. Guinness Nigeria Plc reported a net loss of N12.2 billion for Q1 2025 (ending September 30, 2024). This represents a dramatic 568% decline from the N2.6 billion net profit recorded during the same period the previous year. The company cited declining sales volumes, a reduced gross profit margin, and foreign exchange revaluation losses amounting to N8.4 billion as the primary causes.
Nestlé Nigeria Plc reported a significant pre-tax loss of N255.4 billion for the first nine months of 2024. This represents a 381% increase in losses compared to the N56.65 billion loss recorded during the same period in 2023. Meanwhile, Airtel Group generated revenue of $2.37 billion for the half-year ending September 30, 2024, marking a 10% decline from $2.62 billion in the same period in 2023. The company’s operating profit fell by 20%, and it faced a $151 million loss attributed to the devaluation of the naira. These figures highlight the decline in consumer spending on calls and data services
