Remgro’s fibre empire roars back

Remgro’s fibre infrastructure arm, CIVH, has swung to profitability after the implementation of the landmark Vodacom transaction and strong operational performances from both Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa.

In interim results for the six months to 31 December 2025, released on Wednesday, Remgro said CIVH reported headline earnings of R216-million for the period, representing a significant turnaround from a headline loss of R248-million in the comparative period.

CIVH’s contribution to Remgro’s headline earnings increased to R123-million from a loss of R141-million a year earlier.

The turnaround was underpinned by improved performances across CIVH’s core fibre platforms, with both DFA and Vumatel delivering solid revenue growth as demand increased across enterprise and residential markets. The comparative period was also weighed down by a negative R98-million fair value adjustment on an interest rate hedge.

The Vodacom transaction – in which Vodacom acquired a 30% equity interest in Maziv, the holding company for DFA and Vumatel – was implemented on 1 December 2025 after Icasa approved the deal on 26 November. Vodacom paid for the stake through a combination of fibre and transmission assets valued at R4.89-billion and cash of R6.11-billion.

As part of the transaction, Remgro received a pre-implementation dividend from CIVH of R2.66-billion.

Profits jump

Vodacom has not yet exercised its option to acquire an additional 4.95% of Maziv indirectly from Remgro through CIVH. The top-up option has been extended to 31 March 2027. Remgro’s interest in CIVH remains unchanged at 57%.

The implementation of the deal means Remgro’s indirect interest in DFA and Vumatel has diluted with the entrance of Vodacom as a Maziv shareholder, though Remgro has obtained an indirect interest in the assets contributed by Vodacom.

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CIVH’s revenue for the six months to 30 September 2025 increased by 11.1% to R3.76-billion, while Ebitda – earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – from continuing operations rose 10.9% to R2.46-billion. Operating profit jumped by R481-million to R1.47-billion, reflecting lower depreciation charges and the positive impact of operating leverage.

DFA, the open-access wholesale fibre infrastructure provider, grew revenue by 3.6% to R1.44-billion, underpinned by sustained demand in the fibre-to-the-business and fibre-to-the-tower segments. DFA operates a fibre footprint of more than 14 500km across major metropolitan areas.

Vumatel, the open-access fibre-to-the-home infrastructure provider, posted revenue growth of 15.4% to R2.17-billion, driven by strong subscriber uptake, increases in average revenue per unit and a gradual resumption in the expansion of its fibre infrastructure footprint.

Vumatel is the market leader in South Africa by both homes passed and homes connected, with an estimated market share of approximately 30.3% of homes passed and 31.4% of homes connected. It continues to expand into lower LSM areas while growing connections across both its traditional core network and lower-LSM segments.

The CIVH performance formed part of a strong set of results for Remgro, which reported group headline earnings up 38.8% to R5.18-billion for the period, with headline earnings per share rising 38.5% to R9.31.

The investment holding company declared an interim dividend of R1.73/share, up 80.2% from 96c in the prior period.

CIVH was valued at R16.23-billion on an intrinsic basis at 31 December 2025, up from R15.8-billion at 30 June 2025.

Cash at the centre rose to R12.03-billion from R8.36-billion, boosted by the R2.66-billion CIVH dividend and a 34% increase in sustainable dividends received from investee companies to R2.43-billion.  — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media