JOHANNESBURG — South African billionaire Johann Rupert’s Remgro has reported a sharp turnaround in earnings from its infrastructure investments, with Vumatel emerging as a major contributor to the improved performance.
Remgro said the holding company for Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) contributed R319 million in headline earnings for the year ended June 2026, compared with a R93 million loss in the previous year.
Remgro, chaired by Rupert, owns a 57% stake in Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH). CIVH’s main infrastructure investment is Maziv, which houses Vumatel and DFA.
Vumatel, South Africa’s largest last-mile fibre network operator, recorded 15.3% revenue growth to R4.43 billion. Its operating profit increased by 57% to R2.157 billion for the 12 months to March 2026.
The company attributed the growth largely to the integration of fibre infrastructure acquired from Vodacom and increasing subscriber numbers on its existing network.
DFA also delivered growth, with revenue rising 8.9% to R3.001 billion and operating profit increasing 10.1% to R1.243 billion.
The improved results follow a major transaction involving Vodacom. In December 2025, Vodacom acquired a 30% interest in Maziv, contributing its metro and last-mile fibre assets to the business.
The deal diluted CIVH’s interest in Maziv to 70%, meaning the latest results are not directly comparable with the previous year.
Meanwhile, Vodacom has an option to acquire another 4.95% of Maziv from Remgro. If exercised, this would reduce Remgro’s current 57% interest in CIVH. The option expires on 31 March 2027.
The fibre expansion also includes Herotel. Maziv is set to acquire an additional 49.93% interest in Herotel, with the transaction subject to an independent valuation and other outstanding conditions.
The latest figures highlight the growing financial contribution of South Africa’s fibre infrastructure sector to Remgro and its broader investment portfolio.