Multichoice CEO Scores R35 Million Salary After Turning R4 Billion Loss Into Profit
Multichoice CEO Calvo Mawela is walking away with a hefty R35 million ($2 million) pay package after helping steer the company out of the red and back into profit. The turnaround comes just a year after the group reported a staggering R4 billion loss in 2024, and now shows a R1.8 billion profit for 2025.
What Drove the Comeback?
The biggest boost came from the R3.4 billion sale of Multichoice’s 60% stake in insurance firm NMSIS to Sanlam. That deal played a key role in lifting the group’s pre-tax profit to R5.2 billion.
Cost-cutting also helped. Multichoice trimmed R3.7 billion in expenses, smashing its R2 billion savings goal. A stronger rand further padded the numbers. However, not everything went up: revenue dropped 9% to R50 billion as economic pressure mounted across African markets.
Multichoice CEO Scores R35 Million Salary
Despite the strong performance, Mawela’s total remuneration fell from R51 million to R35 million. That’s mainly because of a steep drop in long-term incentives, which shrank from R24.7 million to R9.7 million.
His base salary and benefits crept up slightly, while short-term bonuses dipped just a little. The scorecard was mixed: he smashed targets for cutting costs and growing BetKing’s betting revenue, but Showmax flopped, with 0% growth in local subscriber numbers.
Multichoice also held back on paying a dividend, citing its ongoing acquisition discussions with Canal+.
Subscriber Numbers Take a Nasty Hit
The profit turnaround came at a cost. Multichoice lost 1.2 million subscribers year-on-year, with its 90-day active user base shrinking by 11% to 18.6 million.
To soften the blow, the group increased subscription fees by 5.7% in South Africa and by 31% in other African countries (in local currencies).
Multichoice may be back in the black, but the subscriber exodus highlights deep challenges. With fierce streaming competition and piracy still eating into the market, the pay-TV giant is walking a tightrope between profitability and customer retention.
Mawela’s paycheck might celebrate a comeback, but behind the scenes, the business is still fighting to hold onto its place in African households.
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