What does a property group look like when most of the property it runs belongs to someone else? Centuria Capital Group (ASX:CNI) manages $22.2 billion of Assets for investors while keeping operating gearing at 5.1 per cent. Abacus Group (ASX:ABG) owns its buildings directly and is selling assets to reshape its balance sheet.

That difference is why a portfolio-level comparison matters. Both are S&P/ASX 300 stapled property groups with a 30 June year-end, yet their earnings, gearing and exposure to valuations flow through very different channels.

Two routes to property income

Centuria is primarily a funds manager. It earns management and performance fees from listed and unlisted real estate funds, including Centuria Industrial REIT and Centuria Office REIT, plus a Credit business, Centuria Bass. It also holds co-investments in its own funds. Coverage of the FY26 slides put management fees at $145.1 million, performance fees at $20 million and Earnings from the co-investment portfolio at $92.2 million.

Abacus is a real estate Investment trust (REIT) that owns office and retail property directly. Its income is rent, less property costs and interest, and its value moves with independent valuations of its buildings.

Centuria's FY26: record assets, diluted per-security growth

Centuria's FY26 results, released on 27 August 2026 for the year to 30 June, showed operating net profit after tax of A$113.8 million, up from $100.8 million, and operating earnings per security of 13.6 cents. Distributions totalled 10.4 cents.

Assets under management (AUM), the value of property and loans Centuria manages for itself and clients, rose to a record $22.2 billion from $20.6 billion. Centuria Bass credit AUM grew to $2.6 billion. It ended the year with $445 million of cash and undrawn debt.

The group guided to FY27 operating net profit of about $130 million, around 14 per cent higher, but operating earnings per security of 13.0 cents, lower than FY26. Results coverage attributed the gap to a June capital raising that lifted securities on issue by about 20.6 per cent.

Centuria reported statutory net profit of $56.5 million, down from $82.7 million, mainly because of $53.1 million of mark-to-market movements in Derivatives and investments. Net tangible assets (NTA), a measure of Book Value per security excluding intangibles, eased to $1.76 from $1.79. Look-through gearing, which includes Centuria's share of Debt inside funds it co-invests in, was 33.5 per cent.

Abacus's FY26: steady rent, a distribution reset

Abacus reported FY26 funds from operations (FFO), the REIT sector's standard measure of underlying earnings, of $81.2 million, down 1.9 per cent, or 9.08 cents per security, according to results coverage. It paid 8.50 cents per security and recorded a statutory loss of $74.5 million.

The total portfolio was valued at $2.458 billion. Office made up $1.448 billion across 13 properties, with occupancy of 91.2 per cent and a weighted average Lease expiry (WALE), the average remaining lease term, of 3.9 years.

Retail property produced operating earnings of $30.0 million at 97.4 per cent occupancy. NTA fell to $1.59 per security and gearing, net debt against assets, was 36.2 per cent.

The Storage King sale changes Abacus's shape

On 17 September, Abacus announced the sale of a 19.60 per cent interest in Storage King Group (ASX:SKG) for $284.8 million. Part went to Ki Corporation at $1.20 per security and part via an institutional Block Trade at $1.00, a blended $1.11.

A $92.7 million Ki Tranche needs Abacus securityholder approval. Abacus said NTA would fall by 7 cents to $1.52, gearing would move towards about 30 per cent after debt repayment, and it would become a specialised commercial REIT focused on Sydney and Brisbane offices.

Coverage of the FY26 results valued the Storage King stake at $348 million, about 14 per cent of assets, at 30 June. The sale proceeds sit below that carrying value, which is consistent with the announced NTA reduction. Abacus is also targeting a 25 per cent cut in administrative expenses.

FY27 distribution guidance is 6.70 cents, at the top of an 80 to 90 per cent payout range of FFO, with 67 per cent expected to be fully franked.

Comparing payouts and valuation sensitivity

By our calculation, a 6.70 cent distribution at a 90 per cent payout implies FY27 FFO of roughly 7.4 cents per security, against 9.08 cents in FY26. This is an inference from the stated payout ratio, not a company forecast.

Centuria's guidance implies a payout of 80 per cent in FY27 (10.4 cents ÷ 13.0 cents), up from about 76 per cent in FY26. Abacus paid out about 94 per cent of FFO in FY26.

Metric (FY26)

Centuria Capital

Abacus Group

Underlying earnings per security

13.6c (operating)

9.08c (FFO)

Distribution

10.4c

8.50c

Statutory result

$56.5m profit

$74.5m loss

NTA per security

$1.76

$1.59

Headline gearing

5.1% operating

36.2%

The gap between underlying and statutory results shows how each absorbs valuation swings. By our calculation, Abacus's statutory result fell $155.7 million short of FFO, while Centuria's shortfall was $57.3 million. Owning buildings outright puts revaluations directly into Abacus's accounts; Centuria feels them mostly through fees and co-investments.

Neither group's measures are like-for-like: Centuria's operating profit and Abacus's FFO are management-defined, and headline gearing is calculated differently.

Risks each group carries

Centuria's credit arm faces scrutiny. The company said in July that the $272 million Centuria Bass Credit Fund held six Loan facilities to developer Bathla Group, all first-mortgage secured and accruing interest, and that the parent had a separate $4.5 million loan. On 22 September it said a Bathla project in Rouse Hill had received an occupation certificate and it was focused on recovering investor capital.

Centuria is also funding growth in ResetData, a 50 per cent owned artificial intelligence computing venture that lost $10.9 million in FY26. Management expects losses to narrow and has targeted positive earnings in the second half of FY27.

Abacus is concentrated in office, where occupancy slipped 90 basis points over the year, and coverage of its results said its average cost of debt is expected to rise to 5.25 per cent from 4.5 per cent.

What to watch

For Abacus: the securityholder vote on the remaining Ki tranche, gearing after settlement, and office leasing. For Centuria: Bathla recoveries, fund flows and whether AUM growth converts into earnings per security.