The 14.2ha Rotorua site bought by Summerset Group where it plans 270 residences and a $180 million scheme.
The 14.2ha Rotorua site bought by Summerset Group where it plans 270 residences and a $180 million scheme.
New Zealand’s second-largest listed retirement village owner-operator has pushed up bottom-line profit by 62 per cent.
Summerset Group, which was listed on the NZX in 2011, made $436.3 million net profit after tax in the full year to December 31, 2023.
That was the second-highest in its history, after portfoliorevaluations rose 64 per cent, defying the housing market downturn.
But expenses rose 17 per cent from $225.4m to $263.8m, which included an extra $9.9m from higher wages the the rising costs of insurance, rates and electricity.
Higher interest rates pushed up net finance costs 62 per cent from $17m a year ago to $27.5m in 2023.
The company has a bank facility of $1.5 billion and $450m of retail bonds.
Shareholders will get a final dividend of 13.2cps paid on March 22, up on the 2022 interim 11.6cps dividend.
The company is second only to Ryman Healthcare in terms of size, operates here and in Australia and is headed by chief executive Scott Scoullar, who said 2023 had been a very good year despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment.
“We are very pleased with this result,” Scoullar said, citing one of the most challenging years the company had seen, with increasing inflation, recruitment shortages and a falling residential property market.
“Yet we withstood those challenges and continued to grow,” he said.
Summerset made a record 1103 property sales via occupation rights agreements, up 10 per cent on 2022.
“This result has again shown, that while the residential property market has an influence on our business, our strong sales and demand pipeline demonstrates that we are not solely dependent upon it to grow,” he said.
The main building at Summerset on Cavendish, in Christchurch.
The company had a record construction year, meeting its target, finishing 643 independent units, serviced apartments, care suites and memory care suites.
It opened main buildings at its Kenepuru village in Wellington, Bell Block in New Plymouth and Te Awa in Napier.
Construction is about to begin at its second Australian village, Chirnside Park near Melbourne.
Consent has been granted for Summerset to build a new village at Oakleigh South in Melbourne and Craigieburn on that city’s northern fringes.
Residents moved into four new villages here in 2023: Cambridge, Boulcott in Lower Hutt, Waikanae, and Milldale on Auckland’s northern fringe.
Summerset has won resource consent to build at Half Moon Bay and Kelvin Grove in Palmerston North and bought new sites at Rolleston and Mosgiel.
The national company said it has 6087 retirement village units, a land bank where a further 5571 can be built, total assets of $6.9b. More than 8000 people live in its villages, staffed by more than 2800 employees.
Late last year, the company was ordered to pay $37,000 over the care of a man who suffered dementia.
A disputes panel formed by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission heard complaints from the man’s wife, Vilma Flanagan, against a Nelson village and upheld all five of those.
Summerset Villages (Richmond) had to pay her for the proven breach of its obligations under the occupational rights agreement and the code of practice.
Scoullar was upbeat about 2024.
“We expect to deliver 675-725 homes in 2024, including Stage 1 of our St Johns village in Auckland, our first multi-level village, delivering four of the seven buildings comprising the main building, care centre and 60 per cent of the village’s homes,” he said.
