Naspers opts for dollar over rand

Naspers will change the presentation currency in its financial statements from the rand to the dollar.

Johannesburg - Naspers says it will change the presentation currency in its financial statements from the South African rand to the United States dollar.

This shift comes into effect from the financial year ended on March 31, it says in a statement issued on Tuesday.

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“Over the past 100 years, the group has evolved from a single-country newspaper business and early investor in pay television to a video-entertainment leader and global internet and e-commerce group with operations in over 130 countries.

“Today, more than 70 percent of revenue measured on an economic interest basis (which includes the group’s proportionate share of the revenue of associates and joint ventures) is sourced from outside South Africa,” it says in a statement.

Naspers adds its shareholder base is now largely comprised of foreign investors to whom financial reporting in rand is of limited relevance.

Internally, the board also bases its performance evaluation and many investment decisions on dollar-based financial information.

As a result, it says, dollar-based financial reporting provides more relevant presentation of its financial position, funding and treasury functions, financial performance and its cash flows.

The functional currencies of the group’s underlying businesses – functional currencies referring to the currencies of the primary economic environments in which underlying businesses operate – remain unchanged and that foreign exchange exposures will be unaffected by the change, albeit that the effects of such exposures will be presented in dollars.

Dividends will continue to be declared in rands, with the relevant exchange rate announced at the time of the dividend payment.

IOL