The listed land lease operator is continuing to kick goals, revealing a 52% jump in its underlying profit to $26.5 million, boosted by a higher number of home settlements.
Ingenia had posted in January that it expected its FY result to be at the lower end at 15-20% of EBIT growth because of the impact of the bushfires.
But the group had 140 new home settlements in the six months to December, up 22% on the same time in 2018, which it attributed to improvements in the housing market.
“While Ingenia’s tourism assets on the South Coast experienced disruption as a result of bushfire activity in the area ... insurance is expected to mitigate revenue losses and property damage,” CEO Simon Owen said.
In total, the group’s revenue was up 25% to $116.9 million, while its operating cash flow of $27.2 million was up 60% on 1H19, boosted by the growth in settlements and rental income, which is up 17% across its village and holiday business.
Ingenia also announced the purchase of the Lake Munmorah Residential Resort on the NSW Central Coast, and says it remains on track to acquire more sites as part of its partnership with America’s Sun Communities, the world’s largest operator of manufactured home parks and recreational vehicle communities, formed in November 2018.
“We are continuing to see opportunities to acquire existing assets,” Mr Owen said, adding: “Our greenfield strategy is continuing to deliver strong sales.”
Ingenia now has a pipeline of 4,260 potential home sites with a $131.1 million equity raising and a new $100 million, 7-year debt facility set to fund their continued expansion.
