Major South African property developer set to shoot the lights out

Major South African property developer Balwin Properties expects an up to 30% increase in earnings for the first half of its 2026 financial year.

Balwin is a local property developer with a focus on large-scale, sectional title estates. Founded in 1996 by Steve Brookes, the company’s current CEO, Balwin completed its first sectional title development later that year in Johannesburg south. 

The company’s first large-scale estate development was undertaken in 2007 in Johannesburg east, with the business expanding into the Western Cape in 2011, Tshwane in 2014 and KwaZulu-Natal in 2017.

On Monday, 20 October, Balwin released a trading statement outlining its expected earnings for the six months through August 2025.

This statement revealed that the company expects its earnings per share to increase by between 25% and 30%.

This would result in earnings per share between 20.43 and 21.24 cents and headline earnings per share between 20.33 and 21.14 cents.

These significant earnings increases mark a strong turnaround for the property developer, which struggled in its 2025 financial year.

For the year through February 2025, Balwin reported a 6% decline in revenue to R2.22 billion and a 4% decline in headline earnings per share to 45.95 cents.

However, in the same year, it saw an 8% increase in profit to R234.02 million and an 8% rise in earnings per share 49.74 cents.

The company attributed its mixed performance to lower sales in the first half of the year, leading to an 8% decrease in the number of apartments recognised in revenue.

In addition, it explained that the positive sentiment that characterised the second half of the 2024 calendar year following the May 2024 national elections had faded, giving way to growing uncertainty in the early months of 2025.

With the first half of its 2026 financial year off to a stronger start, Balwin could see a significant turnaround from the prior year.

Balwin will release its results for the six months ended 31 August 2025 on or about Tuesday, 28 October 2025.