Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
JSE-listed Calgro M3 is making progress on the Bankenveld District City development in Johannesburg, with the group set to add 20,000 housing units near Sandton. The new ‘city’ will be near Johannesburg and is being developed in a joint partnership between Calgro M3 and Momentum-owned Eris Property Fund. It will be between Sandton and Waterfall, accessible via the M1 and N3 highways, with easy access to the Marlboro Road Gautrain station. The development will feature affordable housing, retail, lifestyle and amenities. Calgro M3 will provide housing units, while Eris focuses on industrial and commercial development.
In its latest results for the six months ended 31 August 2025, Calgro M3 said that it was confident that time spent on urban design, town planning, and innovative building methodologies would result in profit growth and margin accretion in future periods. The group’s Residential Property Development segment saw a revenue reduction, partly attributable to the allocation of financial resources to the city. The city officially commenced infrastructure installation in the current reporting period for Calgro M3.
The development, which yields over 20,000 opportunities for Calgro M3, commenced phase 1 of road infrastructure upgrades, to which Calgro M3 will incur R158 million of costs over the 2026 and 2027 financial periods. There will also be the simultaneous commencement of further infrastructure upgrades in the 2027 financial period. Calgro M3 is negotiating with the public sector to finalise the Bankenveld District City infrastructure agreement. All infrastructure installation and on-site work continues to be executed as a private development.
These discussions and agreements with the public sector will allow Calgro M3 to cater to the lower LSM (Living Standards Measure) housing market within the development once concluded. Calgro M3’s financial results reflected short-term revenue and profitability pressures due to a shift in capital allocation to the Bankenveld District City project. Revenue from installation will only be recognised upon finalisation of public sector agreements. With gross profit margins maintained, the asset base expanded and liquidity was preserved.
Revenue from these installations will be recognised upon finalisation of public sector agreements. Otherwise, the group is seeing several other improvements across its operations. The group reduced the number of units by more than half. The improved sales came from targeted marketing campaigns and the sale of units to the property investor market. “The increase in appetite for this segment of the market demonstrates the inherent value within our developments, with units returning high rental yields,” said the group. “These units are considered well-located, near job opportunities and offer well-curated lifestyle amenities, including security.”
On top of this, the group’s other segment, memorial parks, continued to show strong growth, with revenue increasing to R39.83 million (August 2024: R36.76 million). Gross profit in the memorial parks segment rose to R20.07 million (August 2024: R19.03 million), with margins maintained at 50.39% (August 2024: 51.78%). Overall, the group’s revenue declined by 10.16% from R512 million to R460 million. The group’s earnings and headline earnings per share dropped by roughly 18% to 83 cents per share. The group did not declare a dividend for the period.
