Naspers and Prosus CFO Nico Marais earned more than three times as much as the JSE-listed group CEO Fabricio Bloisi, in the 2026 financial year, with the CEO already having received a once-off sign-on bonus when he was appointed CEO two years ago.
When Bloisi joined the group in July 2024, he received a once-off four-year long-term incentive (LTI) package comprising Naspers and Prosus performance share units and e-commerce share appreciation rights. This package covers the full term of his contract.
Bloisi does not receive annual LTIs in 2026 because of this arrangement. Marais’s remuneration, by contrast, comprises a base salary, short-term incentives, annual LTIs, pension and other benefits such as medical aid, its remuneration report discloses.
While Marais’s remuneration comprises a base salary, short-term incentives, annual long-term incentives, pension and other benefits such as medical aid, Bloisi does not receive annual LTIs because his once-off award covers his full four-year term.
At the end of the financial year to March, Bloisi’s unvested awards had a potential value of about $33.8 million. This excludes a once-off Moonshot award, which has an undisclosed value.
For the Moonshot award to pay out, Naspers needs to double its market cap by June 2028, keep it there for a year, and outperform its peers on shareholder returns. Naspers, which says it is the largest primary listed company on the JSE, is worth R639 billion.
Pay day
Marais walked away with $5.9 million in the 2026 year compared with Bloisi’s $1.8 million. Shareholders will vote at the annual general meeting, to be held towards the end of August, on proposals for Marais’s total income to increase to $6.4 million, with Bloisi’s proposed total package to increase to $2.1 million for 2027.
Naspers explains in its remuneration report that executive salaries are designed to recruit and retain skills in a highly-competitive global market. They are benchmarked against international technology and internet companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Uber Technologies, PayPal and DoorDash.
“There is a global shortage of digital talent, such as machine learning specialists, artificial intelligence specialists, data scientists, software developers, digital product designers and digital marketeers and, in particular, executive directors with experience in leading consumer internet businesses,” Naspers says.
Keeping execs on board
Naspers explains that company performance is one of the metrics it uses when determining pay. “We reward executives with a mix of fixed and performance-aligned pay, with an emphasis on performance-aligned pay, to align their interests with shareholders, promote long-term value, encourage ownership and retain high performers,” its 2026 remuneration report says.
Naspers, which claims to be the largest primary listed company on the JSE, said during its results presentation for the year to March that it is “just getting started” with its AI-powered lifestyle ecosystem.
The company reported its “best results ever” in its 2026 financial year, with core headline earnings – its measure of after-tax operating performance – growing 14% to $3.6 billion.
After adjusting for last October’s 5:1 share split, core headline earnings per share rose 24%. This was supported by stronger operating performance across the group and higher contributions from Tencent.
Skin in the game
For 2027, the technology giant proposes introducing a minimum shareholding requirement for the CFO. Under the proposal, Marais will be expected to build and maintain holdings in Naspers and Prosus shares equivalent to up to twice his annual base salary over a prescribed period.
The CEO is already expected to hold shares worth between four and six times his annual base salary. Naspers says the move is intended to further align executive interests with those of shareholders.
Bloisi will not receive any LTI awards for 2027, as the package awarded when he joined the company in July 2024 covers the full four-year term of his appointment.
Marais, meanwhile, is proposed to receive LTIs worth $4 million, split equally between performance share units and share appreciation rights. These are not guaranteed, and the actual value he ultimately receives depends on company performance and shareholder value creation over the vesting period.
* Figures are in US dollars due to the volatility of the rand. For comparison purposes, the local currency was trading at R14.46 this morning, while Naspers’s shares closed up 4.93% on Monday on the back of results to R838.97.
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