Centuria Capital Group's first-half profit falls 39%
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The news: Despite Centuria Capital Group reporting a 39% profit dip and cutting its interim dividend for the first half of the financial year, it has reaffirmed its full-year guidance.
The numbers: The group saw statutory net profit after tax fall from $74.3 million, in last year's first half, to $45.2 million in the six months to December 2023. Total revenue fell from $159.7 million to $149.6 million, as restrained transaction volumes and lower performance fees dented income.
Assets under management remained steady at $21.1 billion, encompassing $14.1 billion of unlisted real estate, $6.2 billion of listed real estate and $800 million of investment bonds.
Centuria reaffirmed its FY24 earnings per security guidance of 11.5 cents to 12 cents per security and distribution per security guidance of 10 cents per security.
However, the company declared an interim dividend of 40 cents per share, down from $1.20 per share a year earlier.
The context: Centuria joint CEO Jason Huljich said that alternative real estate markets, such as real estate finance and agriculture, provided strong growth during the half-year period. The asset class benefitted from unlisted wholesale and retail investor appetite for emerging market investment opportunities.
The company believes these sectors will continue to expand "in the near to mid-term", due to constrained lending criteria from traditional finance markets, as well as Australia's expanding population's increasing demand for fresh produce.
The source: ASX announcement
