By Najat Kantouar


Prosus is banking on artificial intelligence to fuel growth after revenue climbed in the first half of its fiscal year, boosted by strong growth in its core e-commerce businesses.

AI is contributing significantly to the company's current growth, Chief Executive Fabricio Bloisi said in an interview. The Dutch investment group--which focuses on consumer internet companies--said it had troves of data from billions of transactions across its portfolio that allowed it to train AI models.

Prosus and its parent company, Naspers, picked Bloisi as chief executive in May, charting a new course for the group in the age of artificial intelligence. Prosus has investments in classified ads, food delivery, payments and fintech, education technology and venture capital.

Bloisi said AI would play a key role in generating an additional $100 billion in value as the amount of data the group has from transactions represents a competitive advantage for its technology ecosystem. Prosus is working on being a global innovator using AI, he said, including more personalization, and the ability to predict customers' needs, among other benefits.

For the six months ended Sep. 30, e-commerce revenue rose 16% to $3 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes came in at $181 million compared with a loss of $36 million a year earlier. This reflects significant improvement in its iFood and classified businesses, with revenues up 30% and 20%, respectively.

Core headline earnings jumped 76% to $3.5 billion, driven by strong improvements in e-commerce and the performance of Tencent Holdings, in which Prosus has long been a top investor.

Looking ahead, Prosus expects revenue of $6.2 billion for fiscal 2025, with organic growth above 20% and $400 million in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes from e-commerce operations.


Write to Najat Kantouar at najat.kantouar@wsj.com


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