Key Highlights

  • FY27 guidance is operating NPAT of $130 million, about 14% above FY26, and operating earnings per security of 13.0 cents.
  • FY26 operating NPAT was $113.8 million, up from $100.8 million, with OEPS of 13.6 cents.
  • Group assets under management were $22.2 billion at 30 June 2026, from $20.6 billion a year earlier.
  • Securities on issue rose to 984.1 million after a fully underwritten $300 million equity raise.

Why is Centuria Capital Group (ASX:CNI) guiding to higher operating profit in FY27 while operating earnings per security are set to dip? The answer lies in a larger security count. The group's FY27 guidance, issued on 27 August 2026, is for operating net profit after tax (NPAT) of $130 million, about 14 per cent above FY26, but operating earnings per security (OEPS) of 13.0 cents, against 13.6 cents delivered in FY26.

A property manager with a balance sheet

Centuria is a real estate funds manager and investor. It raises capital from investors into listed and unlisted property funds, earns management and transaction fees, and co-invests alongside them. It also runs Centuria Bass Credit, a real estate lending business, and has a data-centre venture, ResetData, which is 50 per cent owned.

Revenue therefore comes from several sources: fees tied to assets under management (AUM), earnings from its own property investments, development and lending margins, and, increasingly, any contribution from ResetData.

FY26 reported results

Figures below are in Australian dollars for the year ended 30 June 2026, from the company's results announcement.

Operating NPAT was $113.8 million, up from $100.8 million. OEPS was 13.6 cents, up 11.5 per cent, and the distribution was 10.4 cents per security. Operating EBITDA was $182.5 million. Statutory NPAT attributable to securityholders was $56.5 million, or 6.7 cents per security, roughly half the operating figure (own arithmetic).

Segment disclosures show Property Investments earnings of $92.2 million and Property and Development Finance EBITDA of $24.3 million. Property funds management EBITDA grew 23 per cent, though the release gave no dollar figure.

Assets under management and activity

Group AUM was $22.2 billion at 30 June 2026, from $20.6 billion a year earlier, a rise of about 8 per cent on our own arithmetic. Real estate AUM was $18.6 billion, split between $6.0 billion listed and $12.6 billion unlisted, and Centuria Bass Credit had $2.6 billion. These components sum to $21.2 billion, and the release did not reconcile the difference.

Acquisitions totalled $1.2 billion, of which $702 million had settled and $521 million had exchanged but not settled. The company also completed the $454 million Sydney CBD Prime Office Fund, launched a single-asset industrial fund anchored by the Port Adelaide Distribution Centre, and added management rights to the Arrow Primary Infrastructure Fund, bringing $0.4 billion of AUM. Leasing was a record 729,000 square metres.

The Centuria Bass Credit loan book at 30 June 2026 was 94 per cent first mortgage with a gross average loan-to-value ratio of 67 per cent. Residential exposure was 93 per cent.

Why per-security earnings are lower

Securities on issue rose to 984.1 million at 30 June 2026 from 830.1 million a year earlier, after a fully underwritten equity raise of $300 million in the second half. Dividing guided NPAT by guided OEPS implies roughly one billion securities on average in FY27, compared with about 837 million implied for FY26 (own arithmetic).

Management said lower average gearing is expected to be offset by higher forecast interest rates and a higher effective tax rate. Expected growth of around 20 per cent in earnings before interest and tax is also cited. The company itself forecasts increased revenues in FY27, with the full earnings effect of the larger capital base in the second half and in FY28.

Operating gearing was 5.1 per cent, and cash plus undrawn debt was $445 million. The weighted average cost of debt was 7.8 per cent, with 14 per cent of group debt fixed. Across the managed funds, weighted average gearing was 46 per cent against a weighted average covenant of 58 per cent.

Data centres: the less certain growth leg

ResetData signed a master services agreement with CDC Data Centres for an initial 7 megawatts, with a letter of intent to increase to 10 megawatts. Revenue is expected from the second half of FY27. A non-binding memorandum of understanding covers about 2 megawatts in Centuria-owned data centres, and after year end the company secured 72 megawatts of power generation units for 2028 delivery within a pipeline of more than 250 megawatts.

The release also shows the cost of this expansion. ResetData recorded an operating EBITDA loss of $10.9 million in FY26, a net loss to Centuria of $5.9 million. Parent company guarantees for a Macquarie GPU facility depend on customer contracting, refinancing and facility conditions.

Risks and what to monitor

These are items to watch, not forecasts.

Guidance assumes prevailing market conditions remain stable. Transaction volumes and fund valuations can change, and they influence both fee income and co-investment returns.

ResetData execution matters. Contracts beyond the initial allocation are not all binding, and the release noted that a reservation of 3 megawatts with CDC would lapse if a binding order were not agreed by early September 2026. The materials reviewed did not confirm the outcome.

Fund concentration is limited, as the release states that no single property or unlisted fund exceeds 3 per cent of total AUM, which reduces dependence on any one asset.

Funding costs matter. A 7.8 per cent weighted cost of debt is a headwind, and management has flagged higher interest costs.

Finally, watch the settlement of the $521 million of exchanged acquisitions, and whether the guided per-security distribution of 10.4 cents is maintained as the security count expands. Management guided to an unchanged 10.4 cents for FY27.