Centuria Capital Group lifts guidance to 10c per share as empire exceeds $10bn
Listed real estate funds manager Centuria Capital Group has upgraded fiscal 2021 distribution per security guidance as its property empire tops $10bn.
The company, riding the boom in industrial property and long-leased assets, lifted its guidance to 10c per share as it reaffirmed operating earnings guidance of 11.5-12.5c.
In the first half it had a $41.4m profit and operating earnings per share of 6.2c, which came as it expanded its real estate platform with the acquisition of 24 assets worth $1.5bn.
Centuria joint chief executive John McBain said the company had a strong start to the year, delivering on its corporate dual strategy of direct real estate and corporate acquisitions.
Operating businesses it had picked up in the past three years — the 360 Capital industrial portfolio, Heathley Limited and Augusta Capital — were contributing strongly to assets under management growth, he said.
Wednesday’s guidance upgrade was the second this financial year and Mr McBain said the company had also reaffirmed fiscal 2021 earnings guidance.
In the first half, the Centuria Industrial REIT expanded its portfolio by 50 per cent to $2.4bn. Centuria Healthcare’s portfolio expanded by 29 per cent to $900m and the NZ arm’s assets grew by 24 per cent to $2.1bn.
Landmark acquisitions secured during fiscal 2021 include the $417m Telstra data centre in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton and the $NZ178m ($166m) Visy Glass manufacturing facility in Auckland, as well as more than $369m of private day hospitals and medical centres and $631m worth of cold storage facilities.
Centuria joint CEO Jason Huljich said the half year was a record period for acquisitions, which averaged about one transaction a week. Almost half the buildings were bought in sale and leaseback deals and 57 per cent on triple-net leases.
Despite the challenging environment resulting from COVID-19, Centuria had an average rent collection of 97 per cent during the half.
Centuria launched two unlisted funds during the half year including the multi-asset Augusta Property Fund in NZ and the Centuria Healthcare Property Fund. Two more unlisted fund launches are under way including the NZ Visy Penrose Fund and the fixed-term Centuria Industrial Income Fund No 1.
Centuria also said its development unit, with a pipeline of $1.6bn in Australia and NZ, would gain in value.
