South Africa’s largest e-commerce company turns profitable after 15 years as revenue hits $1 billion amid Amazon competition

South Africa's Takealot Group has reported its first-ever full-year adjusted operating profit, nearly 15 years after its launch, as revenue rose to $1 billion and the country's largest homegrown e-commerce company defended its market lead against growing competition from Amazon and local rivals.

• Takealot Group reported its first full-year adjusted operating profit in 15 years, with a $11 million profit and $1 billion in revenue.
• The company's core platform, Takealot.com, remains the main revenue driver with $906 million generated, benefiting from higher order volumes and improved margins.
• On-demand delivery arm Mr D stayed profitable and grew revenues, supporting the group's model with frequent, lower-value transactions.
• Takealot's exit from Superbalist sharpened its focus on profitability and expansion of its logistics and fulfilment businesses.

Parent company Naspers said Takealot Group delivered adjusted earnings before interest and tax of $11 million for the year ended March 31, 2026, compared with a $13 million loss a year earlier.

Group revenue rose 19% to $1 billion, supported by stronger order growth, improved margins and faster expansion in its logistics business.

The result gives Takealot a measure of breathing room at a time when South Africa’s online retail market is becoming more contested, particularly after Amazon launched its local marketplace.

However, the numbers also show how much the company’s path to profitability still depends on scale, delivery infrastructure and the ability to turn existing logistics capacity into new revenue.

Takealot.com drives group performance

Takealot.com, the group’s general merchandise marketplace and Amazon’s most direct local competitor, remained the largest contributor to revenue.

The platform generated $906 million in revenue, while gross merchandise value rose 15% and order volumes increased 18%.

The business also delivered adjusted operating profit of $7 million, reflecting a shift from years in which heavy investment in warehouses, delivery systems and technology weighed on earnings.

Naspers said the group’s wider performance was helped by stronger gross profit margins, supported by category mix, retail media and the TakealotMORE subscription programme.

The subscription service, which offers benefits such as free deliveries, discounts and a News24 subscription, accounted for 27% of gross merchandise value during the year.

Mr D remains profitable

Takealot’s on-demand delivery platform, Mr D, also remained profitable during the year, with revenue rising 11% in rand terms to $138 million as gross merchandise value increased 13%.

The platform, which serves restaurants, grocery retailers and other merchants, delivered stable adjusted operating profit of $4 million.

More importantly, its performance strengthened the group’s broader model by adding frequent, lower-ticket transactions that support customer engagement and delivery density.

Profit follows Superbalist exit

The profit milestone also comes two years after Takealot offloaded Superbalist, its fashion e-commerce platform, to a private South African consortium led by Blank Canvas Capital.

The sale allowed the group to concentrate on Takealot.com, Mr D and its fulfilment infrastructure as profitability became a bigger priority for the business.

Takealot acquired Superbalist in 2014 after a $100 million investment to expand its South African operations.

The platform had continued to operate independently under its existing management team, but its exit narrowed the group’s focus at a time when profitability was becoming more important.

At the time, Takealot said it would continue to provide warehousing and logistics services to Superbalist through a multi-year service agreement, signalling that fulfilment was already becoming a separate commercial opportunity for the company.

Logistics becomes the next revenue line

That shift is now becoming more central to Takealot’s strategy, with Naspers saying Takealot Fulfilment Solutions, the group’s newest infrastructure business, recorded 93.5% year-on-year revenue growth and will be scaled as a standalone revenue stream.

“Entering FY27, the group is scaling Takealot Fulfilment Solutions (TFS) as a standalone revenue stream, monetising its existing logistics infrastructure by serving external customers across South Africa,” Naspers said.

The move allows Takealot to earn revenue from logistics capacity originally built to support its own marketplace.

In effect, the group is trying to turn one of e-commerce’s biggest cost centres into a business line serving third-party customers.