Prominent South African property developer gets big Western Cape boost

Balwin Properties has seen a strong start to its 2026 financial year, as lower inflation and interest rates significantly boosted the property giant’s earnings.

In addition, the group’s focus on growing its Western Cape operations has paid off, with the province overtaking Gauteng in terms of the number of apartments recognised in revenue.

Balwin is a local property developer focused on large-scale, sectional title estates. Its portfolio includes over 70 developments and more than 900 apartments across South Africa.

On Tuesday, 28 October, Balwin released its results for the six months through August 2025, which revealed a strong performance for the group.

Balwin’s revenue grew by 43.56% to R1.22 billion, while its profit for the year reached R102.39 million, up 33.13% compared to the first half of its 2025 financial year.

Included in this revenue was 928 apartments, a 45% increase from the 640 apartments Balwin recognised in the prior period.

The company explained that this significant increase was the catalyst for its strong revenue growth.

The developer added that it had also strengthened its forward sales position by 38% to record 1,028 apartments sold during the six-month period.

Despite the strong profit growth, Balwin noted that its gross margin decreased slightly to 29%, down from 32% previously. However, its gross margin recognised from the sale of apartments remained stable at 23%.

In addition, the developer managed to keep a close eye on spending over the period, with operating costs tightly controlled, resulting in a 35% increase in operating profit to R156.58 million.

This is despite the fact that the group also recorded an increase in developments under construction at the end of the period.

It explained that this was primarily driven by elevated construction and development costs as the business gears up for increased activity in the latter half of the financial year.

The commencement of the next phase of infrastructure required for Mooikloof Smart City also contributed to this increase.

The company’s basic earnings per share increased by 27.97% to 20.91 cents per share. Its net asset value also shot up by 8% to 946 cents per share.

Balwin further noted that its debt levels and bank covenants at the end of the six-month period were within the required thresholds. 

However, the developer emphasised that it intends to prioritise debt reduction in the medium term as part of its board’s emphasis on appropriate cash management and capital structure optimisation.

Balwin noted that its financial results benefitted from a stronger macroeconomic environment, with lower inflation and interest rates over the period providing a welcome boost.

From a regional perspective, Balwin also saw the Western Cape surpass Gauteng as its leading revenue contributor in terms of the number of apartments recognised in revenue.

The Western Cape recorded 486 apartments, a 65% increase in apartments and growing its contribution to 52% of total apartments.

Regardless, Gauteng also contributed substantially to revenue, with 390 apartments recognised and a 20% increase in sales volume.

While significantly smaller than either of these two regions, KwaZulu-Natal saw the strongest growth in the number of apartments recognised in revenue, going from 19 to 52, an over 170% increase.

Despite these overall strong results, Balwin’s board elected not to declare an interim dividend, saying the company is prioritising the prudent allocation of capital towards reducing the group’s debt exposure.