Vumatel operating profit jumps 57% as the Vodacom deal lands

Vumatel lifted operating profit 57% to R2.16-billion in the 12 months to 31 March 2026, on revenue up 15.3% to R4.43-billion, according to figures disclosed by Remgro in its results for the year to 30 June 2026 published on Friday.

It is the first substantial look at what Maziv, the holding company for Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, looks like with Vodacom’s fibre infrastructure folded in. Vodacom subscribed for a 30% interest in Maziv on 1 December 2025, contributing R4.9-billion of assets and at least R6.1-billion in cash, after a regulatory fight that ran for four years and ended when Icasa signed off in November.

Remgro attributes Vumatel’s revenue growth primarily to the acquired Vodacom fibre infrastructure, together with subscriber uptake on its existing network, and says the profit jump reflects that revenue growth alongside a focus on cost management.

Dark Fibre Africa, the other half of Maziv, grew revenue 8.9% to R3-billion and operating profit 10.1% to R1.24-billion over the same period, driven by the Vodacom assets and demand in its fibre-to-the-business vertical. Remgro describes Vumatel as the group’s primary growth engine and DFA as a stable, cash-generative infrastructure base.

The comparison is not clean. Maziv and its parent, Community Investment Ventures Holdings, report to 31 March rather than 30 June, and the assets acquired from Vodacom are included for only four months of the period, to 31 March 2026. Remgro says CIVH’s results are not directly comparable with the prior year for that reason. How much of Vumatel’s 57% is organic and how much arrived with the Vodacom network is not disclosed.

At the CIVH level, revenue rose by 13.8% to R7.69-billion and Ebitda, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, by 11.2%. CIVH swung to a R319-million contribution to Remgro’s headline earnings from a R93-million loss a year earlier, an improvement of R412-million and one of the larger single contributors to Remgro’s 42.2% rise in headline earnings per share.

Herotel folded in

The second half of the transaction closed during the year. Vumatel received Competition Tribunal approval for the Herotel deal on 23 December 2025 and final licence transfer clearance from Icasa in May 2026, with the transaction finalised in June. Maziv acquired a further 49.93% of Herotel from CIVH at a floor value of R2.75-billion in exchange for newly issued Maziv shares; Vumatel already held 49.96%. Vodacom subscribed for at least R825-million in cash to restore its interest to 30%. The effect is to consolidate Herotel’s regional and rural footprint under Maziv, extending a group the competition appeal court cleared for Vodacom investment in August 2025.

Remgro, which holds 57% of CIVH, took R3.06-billion out in pre-implementation dividends across the two transactions – R2.66-billion after the Vodacom deal and a further R394-million on Herotel. Its share of the profit CIVH realised on the Herotel transaction was R461-million.

Not every step is done. A further cash subscription by Vodacom, a share issue by Maziv to CIVH and an additional pre-implementation dividend all remain subject to an independent valuation confirming that the 49.93% Herotel interest is worth more than R2.75-billion. And Vodacom has not exercised its option to take a further 4.95% of Maziv, which would lift it to the 34.95% ceiling agreed to with the competition authorities.

What the results do not show is a re-rating. Remgro carries CIVH at an intrinsic value of R16.16-billion, against a restated R15.8-billion a year earlier – a rise of about 2% in a year in which the business gained a strategic shareholder, absorbed Vodacom’s infrastructure and consolidated Herotel. The book value moved more, from R6.78-billion to R8.19-billion.

For a transaction that took four years to clear and was blocked once along the way, that is a notably restrained mark. It may reflect the fact that the Vodacom assets are only four months into the numbers, or a deliberately conservative valuation ahead of the capital expenditure commitments the competition authorities attached to the deal.

Elsewhere in Remgro’s infrastructure pillar, Seacom contributed R71-million to headline earnings against R12-million the year before.

The results come in a week in which fibre consolidation is back on the agenda, with Octotel CEO Trevor van Zyl telling TechCentral that a merger with MetroFibre is on the table.  – © 2026 NewsCentral Media