This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
RETIREMENT village operator Summerset Group (ASX: SNZ) announced a full year profit of NZ$436.3 million, representing the group’s second highest NPAT yet.
For the FY23 period, Summerset posted an underlying profit of NZ$190.3 million, up 11.0% on FY22.
“We are very pleased with this result. We have continued to deliver value for our residents and shareholders during a year which has been one of the most challenging we’ve seen as a company,” said Scott Scoullar, chief executive at Summerset.
“Increasing inflation, recruitment shortages and a falling residential property market made business difficult throughout the year, and yet we withstood those challenges and continued to grow.”
Over the year, Summerset delivered a record 1,103 occupation right agreement (ORA) sales for 2023 up 10% on FY22. With 643 new homes under ORA delivered.
“This result has again shown, that while the residential property market has an influence on our business, our strong sales and demand pipeline demonstrates that we are not solely dependent upon it to grow,” added Scoullar.
“Our residents are often motivated by life events such as community, security and health when coming to Summerset. We continued to see these motivating factors prompting moves into our villages.”
Summerset reported a development margin of 31.6% up from 29.7% in FY22, driven by improved margins across all unit types.
Summerset also delivered its first Australian homes at its Cranbourne North village in Victoria, which will welcome residents in March.
Construction is also set to get underway at its second Australian village, Chirnside Park, with additional developments at Oakleigh South and Craigieburn approved.
“We continue to look for opportunities to expand our portfolio and grow our business to introduce more New Zealanders and Australians to our retirement village lifestyle,” said Scoullar.
Shareholders will receive a final dividend of NZ13.2 cents per share, bringing the total dividend payable for FY23 to NZ24.5 cents per share, up 9.9% on FY22.
