Calgro M3 charts path for Sustainable Growth in 2025

Annual Results Main Highlights (FY Ending Feb 2025):

• Gross margin rose to 29.43%, up from 27.21%
• 1,543 housing units under construction
• Cash reserves increased 26.16% to R154.7 million
• Net asset value up 12.07% to R14.86 per share
• Final dividend declared: 8.63703 cents per share
• Revenue declined to R868.9 million (down 32.7%)
• HEPS decreased to 171.36 cents
• Maintained Level 1 B-BBEE status

About Calgro M3
Residential Development

Calgro M3’s integrated housing model spans subsidised, GAP, and affordable market segments, delivering housing, schools, and amenities within one community to improve lives and enable social mobility.

Memorial Parks

Designed on underutilised land, Calgro’s private memorial parks offer high-quality, secure alternatives to overcrowded public cemeteries supporting both community dignity and investor returns.

Strategic Overview

JSE-listed Calgro M3 is a unique player in South Africa’s listed property space. The Group operates across two core business lines: Integrated Residential Property Development and Memorial Parks. Through these segments, Calgro M3 aims to deliver long-term social impact and commercial sustainability by creating dignified communities and offering alternative, high-quality burial solutions.

Performance & Strategic Resilience

Despite macroeconomic pressures, rising construction costs, and a softer revenue base, Calgro M3 has continued to enhance profitability and tighten cost controls. CEO Ben Pierre Malherbe described the year as one of “strategic resilience,” marked by gross margin growth, a robust pipeline, and the expansion of their fast-growing Memorial Parks business.

‍

“Our pipeline includes over 36,000 residential opportunities and 117,000 burial rights, worth R31.8 billion in potential revenue,” Malherbe stated.

‍

Gross margins were buoyed by historic land investments and a strategic emphasis on open market housing, allowing for higher returns and lower reliance on public sector projects.

Key Developments and Opportunities

The Group continued to build its affordable housing portfolio, with nine active residential developments in Gauteng and the Western Cape. Units range from fully subsidised homes to premium properties priced above R3 million—enabling a wide reach across income levels.

In September 2024, Calgro M3 and joint venture partner Eris Property Group exercised an option to acquire land for the Bankenveld District City Development, located strategically between Alexandra and the Sandton CBD. This flagship development is expected to deliver over 20,000 housing units. Infrastructure rollout began in Q1 2025.

The Memorial Parks segment showed strong expansion, now contributing 8% of Group revenue, up from 4%. Six active parks provide dignified, private burial options with serene, secure settings.

‍

“We’re scaling our layby book, which saw a 57.5% increase, making burial options more affordable,” Malherbe noted.

‍

Challenges and Responses

A notable decline in revenue (-32.7%) and profit (-15.2%) was attributed to production slowdowns in early 2024. This was a tactical response to election-related uncertainty and the need to extract value from already-developed land and infrastructure.

Cash preservation remained a focus, with a 2.7% reduction in admin expenses and a sharp increase in cash receipts. Meanwhile, the Group navigated interest rate volatility, with real benefits to home loan affordability expected later in 2025.

Assessment: Positioned for Long-Term Growth

Despite short-term revenue pressure, Calgro M3’s strategic fundamentals remain sound. The Group’s focus on margin-rich, open-market housing, cost containment, and community-based design offers a durable business model.

Their dual-sector strategy serving both housing and memorial needs adds resilience. Moreover, their empowerment credentials, high female and HDI representation, and continued infrastructure delivery position Calgro M3 not only as a profit-driven firm but as a nation-building enterprise.

Looking forward, Calgro M3 is entering a transformative growth phase, with a long-term mantra of #sustainablegrowth. According to Malherbe: “It is time for companies to move from resilience to contributing toward growth.”

As the company deepens its national footprint and accelerates project delivery, it remains well positioned to deliver shareholder value while helping reshape South Africa’s urban housing and memorial landscapes.

About Calgro M3

‍Residential Development: Calgro M3’s integrated housing model spans subsidised, GAP, and affordable market segments—delivering housing, schools, and amenities within one community to improve lives and enable social mobility.

Memorial Parks: Designed on underutilised land, Calgro’s private memorial parks offer high-quality, secure alternatives to overcrowded public cemeteries supporting both community dignity and investor returns.

‍