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Highlights

  • Centuria is an ASX-listed office REIT company which owns a portfolio of office assets across Australia
  • In FY23, COFs FFO stood at AUD 93 million and gross property income reached AUD 183.1 million
  • Centuria Capital Group have nearly 18.87% shareholding in the company

Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF) is a pure play office REIT firm which provides investors a chance to invest in commercial property through a real estate investment trust. The company owns a portfolio of office assets in core submarkets across Australia. COF is included in the S&P/ASX 300 index. 

The AUD 728.75 million market cap firm continues to maintain high occupancy as in the financial year 2023 (FY23), the company registered occupancy rate of 97%, underpinned by increased leasing activity.

During the reported period, receipts from customers increased by 0.6% YoY to AUD 182 million, and gross property income surged by 6.6% YoY to AUD 183.1 million. Funds from operations stood at AUD 93 million in FY23 because of increased interest rates.

The focus during the year was on capital management.

Top 10 shareholders of COF

The top 10 shareholders of COF have nearly a 60% shareholding in the company, while the top four have around 46.50% shareholding. The highest stakes are held by Centuria Capital Group and PEJR Investments Pty. Ltd. with a shareholding of ~18.87% and ~12.21%, respectively.

Recent business update

Through an ASX update dated 31 October 023, the company informed that Mondrian Investment Partners Limited ceased to be a substantial holder in COF, as of 27 October 2023.

On 23 October 2023, the company released quarterly update for the quarter ended September 2023 (1QFY24). The period saw increase in leasing activity across domestic office market in Australia. Moreover, the occupancy rate during the quarter stood at 96.7% and WALE was 4.1 year.

Outlook

In FY24, the company expects to register FFO of 13.8 cents per unit and distribution of 12 cents per share.

COF anticipates that the leasing momentum generated in the past two years would continue in FY24.

The focus is to deliver occupancy above national average, capturing rental growth in available markets and improving or maintaining portfolio WALE. Other priorities comprise undertaking proactive capital management and maintaining high portfolio quality.

Share performance of COF

COF shares closed 2.39% up at AUD 1.285 apiece on 30 November 2023. With this, in the last one year, COF’s share price has dropped by 18.92% and in the last one months, it has increased by 17.35%.

The 52-week high of COF is AUD 1.778, recorded on 3 February 2023, while the 52-week low is AUD 1.055 apiece, recorded on 30 October 2023.

 

Note 1: Past performance is neither an Indicator nor a guarantee of future performance.

 

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, is 30 November 2023. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.