Remgro Earnings Jump 42% to R11.1 Billion on Strong Cash Flow
Remgro reports a 42% rise in headline earnings and declares a special dividend as free cash flow doubles to R8.3 billion.
Key points
- Remgro headline earnings rose 42.3% to R11.1 billion, with EPS up 42.2% to R20.03.
- Free cash flow doubled to R8.3 billion, supporting a total payout of R11.45 per share.
- Mediclinic adjusted EBITDA grew 14% to $842 million, while Heineken Beverages turned profitable.
Remgro Ltd reported a 42.3% increase in headline earnings for the fiscal year, reaching R11.1 billion. Excluding one-off items, earnings grew 29.3% to R10.1 billion. The per-share figure rose 42.2% to R20.03, reflecting broad operational improvements across the holding company’s key investees.
Cash generation at the center of the group strengthened significantly, with free cash flow climbing 105.6% to R8.3 billion. Adjusted free cash flow increased 28.6% to R4.95 billion, or R8.91 per share. This liquidity allowed Remgro to boost its ordinary dividend by 73% and declare an additional special payout.
Dividend payout rises sharply
The board declared a final ordinary dividend of R4.22 per share, a 70.2% increase over the prior year. Combined with interim payments, the total ordinary dividend for the year reached R5.95 per share. Remgro also declared a special dividend of R5.50 per share, bringing the total cash payout to shareholders to R11.45 per share.
The intrinsic net asset value per share increased by 4.6% to R305.80. Including distributions, the total growth for shareholders was 8.9%. Cash at the center stood at R20.4 billion at year-end, rising to R22.5 billion by July 1, 2026, following the restructuring of the Mediclinic interest.
Mediclinic drives operational growth
Mediclinic, a key portfolio company, saw adjusted revenue rise 11% to $5.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA grew 14% to $842 million, with cash conversion improving to 106%. The leverage ratio decreased to 2.7 times, strengthening the balance sheet. In Southern Africa, revenue increased 7% to R23.8 billion, while adjusted EBITDA rose 8% to R4.4 billion.
Heineken Beverages swung from a headline loss of R268 million to a profit of R589 million, marking a 320% improvement. Revenue remained broadly flat at R55.3 billion, but operating margins improved. Meanwhile, CIVH reported a 14% revenue increase to R7.6 billion and swung to positive headline earnings of R560 million, aided by the completion of Vodacom and Vumatel transactions.
Mixed results in food and retail
RCL Foods faced headwinds, with EBITDA down 8.6% and headline earnings falling 27.1%. Pet food volumes dropped 20.5%, and the business absorbed a R212 million hit from deep-sea sugar imports. Conversely, Maziv revenue grew 15% to R7.7 billion, and headline earnings surged to R856 million from R22 million in the prior year.
Vumatel revenue increased 15% to R4.4 billion, with EBITDA up 19% to R3.2 billion. DFA revenue rose 9% to R3 billion, and Air Products contributed R686 million to headline earnings, up 6.7%. These varied results across the portfolio drove the overall 42% earnings growth, as noted in reports from yahoo.com.
