RetireAustralia has 15 of its 28 retirement villages across Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia with a waitlist and an average occupancy of 95%.
“After the pandemic-induced slowdown with developments in 2021, the Group is accelerating construction with four sites under construction,” said RetireAustralia’s joint owner Infratil in its 2022 annual report.
“A further 34 apartments are being built at The Rise at Wood Glen, and 22 units at Forresters Beach - both are premium villages on the NSW Central Coast. In South East Queensland, construction of a further 66 apartments is underway at The Verge on the Gold Coast as well as 92 apartments at The Green at Tarragindi, Brisbane.
“RetireAustralia is also continuing to build up its development pipeline for the next five years and beyond. An A$40 million third stage at The Verge on the Gold Coast has recently been approved. The stage will include 62 independent living apartments as well as a care hub with 10 to 12 beds, alongside the 106 apartments already completed or under construction.
“A systematic review of opportunities at a village level during the year resulted in the sale of the 50-unit Harwin Retirement Village in South Australia in April 2022. Pleasingly, the majority of residents opted to stay with RetireAustralia and were relocated to other villages nearby.
“RetireAustralia’s strong performance reinforces Infratil’s decision (along with our investment partner, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund) to undertake a strategic review of our shareholding in the business. We each acquired 50% of RetireAustralia in 2014 for a combined A$618 million (debt A$210 million and equity A$408 million).
“With a strong management team in place and the business performing well, it is time to consider what ownership structure is best for RetireAustralia and for Infratil’s shareholders. While we are reviewing our position there will be no change to services, facilities or the experience of residents and their families.”
RetireAustralia CEO, Dr Brett Robinson, said the company had a targeted and deliberate approach to achieving consistently high performance.
RetireAustralia made an underlying profit of $56.5 million to the year to March. This was an 87% increase on 12 months earlier, when the business made $30.2 million. It achieved a net profit after tax of $149.1 million, up from $55.6 million on the prior year.
To compare the financial result, rental village operator Eureka Group posted a net profit of $4.03 million for the Half Year to 31 December; whereas land lease operator Ingenia Communities achieved an underlying profit of $28.1 million for the HY to 31 December.
The increase in demand for a retirement community drove established community resales to 489, an increase of 51.4% from the prior year.
