Prosus’ full-year core earnings increased by 84%

(Reuters) – Core earnings at Dutch technology investor Prosus rose 84% in the year ended March 31, helped by strong performance in its e-commerce operations, it said on Monday.

Its core earnings were $5.0 billion, up from $2.7 billion a year earlier, the company said.

“Our e-commerce portfolio has become profitable for the first time in history, and our continued buyout has created significant value for shareholders,” the company’s interim CEO Ervin Tu said in a statement.

The company recently named iFood’s head of food delivery as its new CEO, effective from July.

E-commerce is one of the main areas of Prosus investment.

The group’s free cash flow roughly tripled year-on-year to $524 million, also helped by e-commerce and the performance of its key investment, Chinese tech giant Tencent.

(Reporting by Olivier Sorgho and Anna Peverieri; Editing by David Goodman and Louise Heavens)