JSE-listed industrial and technology group Reunert posted a 23% decline in operating profit for the six months to 31 March 2026, with weakness in its power cable businesses overshadowing solid performances from its ICT and Applied Electronics segments and a 41% jump in operating profit at its Defence cluster.
Group revenue from continuing operations edged up 1% to R6.31-billion (H1 FY2025: R6.22-billion), but operating profit fell to R453-million (H1 FY2025: R585-million), the company said in its interim results statement on Thursday. Headline earnings per share declined 22% to R1.85, and the interim dividend was held flat at 90c/share. The group’s net cash position climbed to R383-million from R81-million a year earlier.
The results are the first to be released under newly appointed CEO Anthonie de Beer, who took over on 1 March 2026. Outgoing executive director Alan Dickson, who was previously CEO, will step down on 31 May.
Reunert’s ICT segment, which houses the Nashua, iqbusiness and newly launched Reunert Connect brands, was the standout performer despite a 4% decline in revenue to R1.86-billion. Segment operating profit rose 1% to R321-million, with the operating margin expanding from 16.4% to 17.2% as the group reaped the benefits of strategic restructuring undertaken in the prior financial year.
The restructured and now fully integrated ECN and Skywire businesses – rebranded as Reunert Connect and forming the group’s new Business Communication cluster – delivered a “solid performance as demand for enterprise connectivity and last-mile broadband continued to provide steady revenue growth”, the company said.
Cloud, data, AI
Iqbusiness, which falls under the Solutions and Systems Integration cluster, produced what Reunert called a “good financial performance” following last year’s restructuring, with the merged entity under new leadership delivering improved efficiencies and an increased focus on cloud, data and AI-enabled services.
The Applied Electronics segment was the standout in profit terms, with revenue up 9% to R1.03-billion and operating profit jumping 41% to R110-million. Within the segment, the Defence cluster delivered double-digit growth, supported by improved capacity utilisation, production efficiencies and a favourable product mix.
Read: Rob Godlonton named CEO of iqbusiness, replacing Adam Craker
By contrast, the Electrical Engineering segment, which includes the South African and Zambian power cable businesses, saw operating profit drop 40% to R138-million on revenue up 2% to R3.5-billion. The operating margin contracted from 6.6% to 3.9%.
Reunert cited weakness in both South African and Zambian infrastructure investment, a 21% appreciation of the Zambian kwacha against the US dollar that drove margin compression and foreign exchange losses, and a 31% jump in copper prices that delayed customer orders.
The company said South African gross domestic fixed investment had fallen to its lowest level in 25 years, at 14% of GDP, “as the South African government’s stated commitment to infrastructure investment did not translate into tangible activity in the period”.
In a post-period event, Reunert International Holdings announced that it had entered into agreements to “acquire 51% of a wholly owned subsidiary of CSG, the Czechoslovak Group, for a nominal amount” and to establish a joint manufacturing venture with the European defence group.
The venture will create what Reunert called a “strategic European electronic artillery fuze manufacturing capability for large-calibre ammunition” based in Slovakia. The transaction is subject to suspensive conditions and had not become effective by the date of the results announcement.
The structure of the deal – 51% for a nominal amount – suggests a strategic partnership in which Reunert is contributing its fuze technology and engineering capability in exchange for control of a CSG-operated European manufacturing footprint, rather than a conventional financial acquisition. It positions the South African group to participate directly in European defence rearmament programmes at a moment of accelerating procurement across the continent.
Reunert also disclosed details of its iqbusiness subsidiary’s 13 May acquisition of Silversoft, an enterprise software and digital solutions provider.
Silversoft deal
Iqbusiness has agreed to acquire 100% of Silversoft’s South African business and related operating assets as going concerns, and 100% of Silversoft UK from Silversoft Jersey. Silversoft provides enterprise software and digital solutions to “people- and project-centric organisations” in South Africa, the UK and the Middle East. The transactions remain subject to suspensive conditions.
The deal expands iqbusiness’s footprint outside South Africa and adds a UK-based subsidiary to the platform – a move that gives Reunert a foothold in the European and Middle Eastern enterprise software markets.
Read: New CEO for Reunert as Alan Dickson steps down after 12 years
Both transactions fell below the JSE’s threshold for categorisation and were disclosed on a voluntary basis. Reunert did not provide acquisition values for either deal.
The group, meanwhile, announced what it called a “strategic refresh” to position the business for growth opportunities, focused on “sharper execution, disciplined cash management and prioritising the areas of the business with the strongest potential to create value”. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media