Charter Hall Group has posted a statutory profit of $226.5 million for the first half of the 2023 financial year (1H23), down 56.2% from $517.8 million a year ago.
Operating earnings fell 9%, from $263.9 million as at 31 December 2021 to $239.9 million at the close of 1H23.
This was despite an improvement in return on contributed equity, up from 24.4% to 28%. The underlying result produced distributions of 19.7 cents per share.
Total funds under management (FUM) rose 10.6%, from $79.5 billion to $88 billion — driven by a 19% increase in Property FUM, from $61.3 billion in 1H22 to $73 billion.
Property FUM growth was spurred by $4.3 billion in net acquisitions, positive revaluations of approximately $300 million, and capital expenditure (predominantly on developments) of $2.7 billion.
The total value of property investments increased from $2.85 billion in 1H22 to $3 billion, however returns were weaker, falling from 25.5% to 10.4%.
“Charter Hall Group continues to deliver sector leading returns for investors in our funds,” Charter Hall’s managing director and group chief executive, David Harrison, said.
“Our focus remains on curating sustainable and resilient portfolios that deliver earnings growth for investors through all market conditions.
“This focus on performance for our investors and our co-investment alongside them continues to attract capital to the platform.”
According to Harrison, Charter Hall would leverage $6.5 billion in available liquidity to drive further growth, citing “significant opportunities” in the company’s sale and leaseback pipeline, the $15.4 billion development pipeline, and “a number of new product initiatives”.
Barring “no material adverse change in current market conditions”, the group was projecting post-tax operating earnings per security of no less than 90.0 cents per share — 6% growth on FY22.
ESG update
The company also issued an update on its ESG posture, revealing it had accelerated its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by bringing forward its target from 2030 to 2025.
This involved installing a further 600 Kilowatts of solar during the period, taking the total solar platform to 47.8 megawatts.
Charter Hall had also reportedly completed an additional $900 million of sustainable finance transactions linked to the environmental performance and Green Building ratings of assets.
Moreover, the company has invested $700,000 in social enterprise and community initiatives, particularly to support communities impacted by floods.
