Key Highlights

• In its half-year result in February 2026, the group said alternative sectors made up 27% of its real estate Assets under management, and it had taken over management rights to the Arrow agriculture funds.

• It also owns a property finance arm, Centuria Bass Credit, which it lifted from an 80% to a 100% stake during FY26.

• According to the company's results release, operating Earnings per security (OEPS) for FY26 were 13.6 cents, up 11.5% on FY25.

• Operating net profit after tax was $113.8 million, compared with $100.8 million a year earlier, and operating EBITDA was $182.5 million.

Why is a property Fund Manager talking about megawatts of data centre capacity? Because Centuria Capital Group (ASX:CNI) used its FY26 result, released on 27 August 2026, to show that it is trying to add an artificial intelligence infrastructure Business to a funds management platform that is already at record size.

What Centuria does and how it earns

Centuria is an Australian and New Zealand real estate and alternatives manager. Its main income comes from managing listed and unlisted property funds, charging base management fees, Acquisition and transaction fees, leasing and development fees, and performance fees where they apply. A second earnings stream comes from the balance sheet, where the group co-invests alongside investors and receives distributions.

The business has widened beyond traditional office and industrial property. In its half-year result in February 2026, the group said alternative sectors made up 27% of its real estate assets under management, and it had taken over management rights to the Arrow agriculture funds. It also owns a property finance arm, Centuria Bass Credit, which it lifted from an 80% to a 100% stake during FY26.

The FY26 result in numbers

According to the company's results release, operating earnings per security (OEPS) for FY26 were 13.6 cents, up 11.5% on FY25. That matched guidance the group had upgraded in February. Operating net profit after tax was $113.8 million, compared with $100.8 million a year earlier, and operating EBITDA was $182.5 million. The company said property funds management earnings rose 23%.

The distribution was 10.4 cents per security, in line with guidance.

Group assets under management reached a record $22.2 billion, from $20.6 billion at the end of FY25. The company reported $1.2 billion of acquisitions, made up of $702 million that had settled and $521 million that had been exchanged but not yet settled.

Centuria Bass Credit's assets under management rose to $2.6 billion from $2.3 billion. The company described the Loan book as 94% first mortgage, with a 67% average gross loan-to-value ratio and 93% exposure to residential property.

The data centre pivot

The more unusual part of the result is ResetData, a 50% owned business. The company said it signed a master services agreement with CDC Data Centres after 30 June 2026, covering an initial 7 megawatts with a letter of intent to reach 10 megawatts. Revenue is expected from the second half of FY27.

It also reported securing 72 megawatts of power generation units for delivery in 2028, with the option of a further 30 megawatts, which it said brings deployment forward by about two years. It cited an identified pipeline of more than 250 megawatts and a non-binding memorandum of understanding with an investment-grade customer covering about 2 megawatts.

To support this, the company reported an additional $300 million, fully underwritten capital raising in the second half of FY26, directed to AI infrastructure, neocloud capability and funds management growth.

This is a strategic shift rather than a routine extension of the property business. Data centre and AI compute services are capital intensive, depend on securing power and sites, and rest on a handful of large customers.

FY27 guidance and what it implies

For FY27 the company guided to operating net profit after tax of $130 million, which is 14% higher than FY26. Operating earnings per security guidance is 13.0 cents, which is below the 13.6 cents delivered in FY26, while the distribution is guided to remain at 10.4 cents.

Management expects the full earnings contribution from the enlarged capital base to arrive in the second half of FY27 and especially in FY28. Guidance assumes stable market conditions.

Cash and undrawn Debt were $445 million at 30 June 2026, and operating gearing was 5.1%. At 31 December 2025, gearing had been 12.4% with $288 million of liquidity, so the Balance Sheet looks considerably less geared after the raising.

Sector conditions and competitive position

Centuria competes with other diversified managers for capital from retail, wholesale and institutional investors. Its scale, with $22.2 billion under management, and its listed and unlisted fund range give it distribution advantages.

In data centres the competitive picture is different. ResetData is entering a field with established operators and well-funded global players, and the company itself points to a constrained Supply of power-ready sites.

Risks and what to watch

Several uncertainties stand out:

• Execution risk: converting the pipeline and non-binding memorandum into binding contracts, and delivering infrastructure on schedule.

• Capital intensity: more funding may be needed as the data centre business scales.

• Earnings timing: growth is weighted to the second half of FY27 and FY28, leaving less Margin for delay.

• Credit risk: the lending book is concentrated in residential construction and bridging finance.

Upcoming points to monitor include ResetData's first revenue in the second half of FY27, the settlement of exchanged acquisitions, the 2028 power equipment delivery and the next half-year result.