Vicinity Centres (' Vicinity', ASX: VCX) today released its outcomes for the 12 months ended 30 June 2025 (' FY25').
FY25 financial and strategic highlights:
- Statutory net profit after tax (' NPAT') of $1,004.6 m (FY24: $547.1 m).
- Funds From Operations (' FFO') up 1.4% to $673.8 m.
Adjusted for one-off items1 and higher loss of rent from advancements, FFO was up 3.6%.
- At 14.8 cents, Vicinity delivered FFO per security at the top end of its assistance range of 14.5 to 14.8 cents per security.
- Final circulation of 6.05 cps, bringing FY25 distribution to 12.00 cps (FY24: 11.75 cps), representing a payment ratio of 95.4% of Adjusted-FFO (' AFFO').
- Ongoing execution of investment technique; getting a premium possession, Lakeside Joondalup, with strong development capacity at appealing prices and divesting non-strategic properties at 5%+ above book worths.
- Opened Chadstone's revitalised fresh food and dining precinct, The marketplace Pavilion, which is trading above expectations. Chadstone's overall visitation in 4Q FY25 up 36% on 4Q FY24 and fixed centre2 sales up +4.4% over the same period.
- Transformational advancement of Chatswood Chase to northern Sydney's fashion capital remains on track to start opening in 2Q FY26; renting now mostly complete.
- Comparable Net Residential Or Commercial Property Income3 (' NPI') growth of +3.7%, reflecting strength of Vicinity's portfolio metrics and continued outperformance by the premium property portfolio. Headline NPI up 3.3%.
- Strengthening retail sales, up 2.8% in FY25 and durable portfolio metrics supported by higher quality possession portfolio, robust merchant demand and tenant remixing, amid a tightening retail supply environment.
- Occupancy at 99.5%, leasing spreads at +2.5%, average annual escalator on brand-new leases of +4.8% and specialty and mini majors sales in 2H FY25 up 4.7% relative to 2H FY24 (1H FY25: +2.9%).
- Coupled with strong tenancy, Vicinity's specialized tenancy expense ratio (' OCR') of 14.1% highlights possible for continued positive leasing stress and future rent development.
- At 26.6%, gearing is at lower end of the 25-35% target range, enabling financial investment in growth top priorities
Reflections on FY25 from CEO and Managing Director, Peter Huddle:
Strategic execution FY25 has been another essential year for Vicinity. The tactical decisions taken and investments made this year continue to be anchored by our strong conviction that premium, fortress-style properties located in strong trade areas that are well handled by retail residential or commercial property specialists, have the prospective to provide remarkable and sustained income and value growth. Our conviction continues to be reinforced by the emerging scarcity of retail Gross Lettable Area (' GLA') per capita in Australia4 developing from population development, building sector restraints and minimal major tenant expansion. In this context, we have actually continued to execute our financial investment method in FY25, obtaining 50% of Lakeside Joondalup in Western Australia, a premium asset with strong growth capacity at appealing pricing ($ 420 million), divesting three non-strategic properties at a blended premium to June 2024 book worth of > 5%, and selectively purchasing crucial, large scale retail developments. Also during the year, we advanced essential and transformational retail developments at Chadstone and Chatswood Chase, with Chadstone's reimagined fresh food and dining precinct, The Market Pavilion, and brand-new, 20,000 sqm workplace tower, One Middle Road, successfully completed in 2H FY25. We were thrilled to finish last settlements with the LVMH Group to open at Chatswood Chase in 4Q FY26. For any luxury retail precinct, the presence of LVMH's home of brand names is vital. Formalising the extension of our close and effective collaboration with the LVMH Group to include Chatswood Chase supports the successful reimagination of Chatswood Chase as northern Sydney's brand-new style capital. Maintaining our conservative and disciplined technique to managing tailoring and keeping our credit scores continues to be a directing principle when handling and deploying capital. Importantly, we have actually had the ability to make significant improvements to our asset portfolio, while at the same time ensuring gearing remains at the lower end of our 25% -35% target variety, at 26.6%. Also supporting our tailoring was the 1.2%, or $175 million, uplift in total portfolio evaluations in the 2nd half. We are pleased to report that for the third successive six-month duration, the portfolio provided positive net residential or commercial property assessment development in 2H FY25, underpinned by regularly strong earnings growth and stable evaluation metrics. On a complete year basis, the total value of our portfolio increased by $349 million (1H FY25: up $174 million, 2H FY25: up $175 million). In January 2025, Vicinity developed a Circulation Reinvestment Plan (' DRP') as a prospective alternate source of financing and flexibility for securityholders. The DRP functioned for the FY25 interim distribution, attaining a 9% uptake and providing Vicinity with $23 countless additional capital. The DRP remains in operation for the FY25 last distribution with a 1.0% discount rate to be used. Further information were offered to the ASX today. Operating environment and portfolio efficiency FY25 has actually proven to be a resistant year in terms of retail sales development, benefiting from the confluence of population growth, strong employment, the built up benefit of earnings tax decreases efficient 1 July 2024, Federal Government initiatives to decrease the expense of living throughout FY25 (e.g., energy cost rebates), as well as 2 interest rate reductions and the probability of additional interest rate reductions in 2025. Following +2.0% retail sales5 development in 1H FY25, development sped up to +3.8% in 2H FY25, delivering a strong +2.8% MAT uplift for the complete year. Against this background, our portfolio metrics stayed positive and continue to support present and future year earnings growth. Occupancy lifted to 99.5% (Jun-24: 99.3%) and we are continuing to compose high quality leases; renting spreads remained favourable at +2.5% (FY24: +1.1%), typical yearly escalators on offers finished stay healthy at 4.8% (FY24: 4.8%) and the percentage of earnings on holdover is now at a historical low for Vicinity of 2.1% 6. At 3.7% in FY25 (FY24: 4.1%), similar NPI growth continued to be driven by remarkable portfolio metrics provided by our premium possessions. In FY25, our premium property portfolio7 provided 4.9% equivalent NPI development, renting spreads of +6.1%, occupancy at 99.6% and +4.3% growth in mini major and specialized retail sales in 2H FY25. Notably, improving portfolio quality and tactical occupant remixing provided by our residential or commercial property, leasing and development groups have supported 18% development in specialty sales performance because FY19. Together with growing sales performance and high portfolio occupancy, Vicinity's specialty tenancy cost ratio of 14.1% highlights prospective for continued favorable leasing tension and future lease development. Developments and mixed-use update Our willingness and our ability to buy the vibrancy and quality of our possession portfolio stays an essential differentiator and a source of competitive advantage, particularly in the context of tightening supply of retail floorspace and ongoing capability restrictions in Australia's building sector. On 27 March 2025, we opened Chadstone's revitalised fresh food and dining precinct, The marketplace Pavilion, which continues to trade above expectations. After a prolonged duration of disruption from advancement activities, the opening of The Market Pavilion ushers in a brand-new period for food and dining at Chadstone, enhancing the asset as Australia's premier destination for shopping, dining and entertainment. Showcasing the favorable impact on the possession more broadly, Chadstone's overall visitation in 4Q FY25 was up by 36% on 4Q FY24 and similarly, fixed centre retail sales have positively rebounded, up 4.4% over the very same period. In June 2025, we at Vicinity, and the Chadstone centre more broadly, were thrilled to officially invite Adairs' head workplace team to the One Middle Road workplace tower. Kmart is now fitting out its office area and is expected to formally open in early 2026. With One Middle Road occupied, Chadstone will benefit from as much as 2,000 more office workers throughout the week who will use the possession's unrivalled shopping, dining, leisure and entertainment facilities, all conveniently located and housed under the one roof. The Chatswood Chase significant redevelopment is significantly progressed with significant structural works now total and the brand-new shopping mall reconfigurations taking shape. Notably, the pre-leasing is now mainly complete.
Our plans for a staged opening stay unchanged, with the redeveloped Ground and Level 2 on track to open in 2Q FY26, in time for Christmas. Following comprehensive lease negotiations and a complicated fit-out procedure, the Luxury precinct on Level 1 is anticipated to be open and trading by 4Q FY26. The Board has actually authorized the beginning of the entertainment and way of life redevelopment of Galleria in Western Australia, which will consist of a total shopping center revitalisation and intro of a boosted dining and home entertainment deal. As we expect FY27, retail development is most likely to be less transformational in nature and more focused on targeted, small to medium scale advancements that guarantee our possessions continue to provide an engaging proposition for our clients. From a more comprehensive mixed-use advancement perspective, following the NSW Government's approval of the Bankstown Rezoning Proposal in November 2024 as part of the Transport Oriented Development program, Vicinity is well placed to advance domestic development adjacent to our Bankstown Central possession and the new Metro station, which is because of begin services in 2026. Chatswood Chase also provides an amazing near-term blended usage development chance, with Vicinity owning two residential or commercial properties that are directly nearby to the centre. Sites at both centres proposed for high density domestic have been backed for inclusion in the Housing Development Authority's accelerated evaluation path, supplying an expedited planning procedure. Both Bankstown Central and Chatswood Chase represent 2 of Vicinity's a lot of strategically located and interesting assets with possible to deliver brand-new housing in high-demand urban precincts. These chances line up with government top priorities, while providing Vicinity with the opportunity to more densify the area surrounding crucial possessions. Vicinity continues to think about various operating and financing designs proper for these mixed-use chances, while at the exact same time, keeping optionality in regards to how and when we open the best risk adjusted return for Vicinity and its securityholders. Conclusion
In the context of significant developments and an active financial investment technique, FY26 will be another year where we stay steadfastly focused on driving strong and remarkable possession performance while we at the same time total and provide Chatswood Chase, advance the redevelopment of Galleria, and cycle the short-term revenues effect from our strategic divestments to date. Importantly, our balance sheet stays an essential enabler of our ability to buy our growth top priorities, both organic and inorganic, that will ultimately provide sustained value accretion for all our stakeholders. FY26 Earnings Guidance8
- FY26 FFO and Adjusted FFO per security expected to be within the varieties of 15.0 to 15.2 cents and 12.8 to 13.0 cents, respectively
- Vicinity anticipates its complete year circulation payment to be within the target variety of 95-100% of Adjusted FFO
- Adjusting for one-off items9 and lower development-related loss of lease, FY26 FFO development anticipated to be 2.0% - 3.5%.
- Comparable NPI growth expected to be c. 3% in FY26. Excluding the effect of new taxes and levies, equivalent NPI in FY26 would be expected to be c. 3.5%.
- Development-related loss of rent10 c.$ 25m in FY26 (FY27: c.$ 15m).
- Weighted average cost of financial obligation in FY26 expected to be c. 5.0% (FY25: 5.1%).
- Maintenance capital expenditure and leasing rewards of c.$ 100m.
- Investment capital investment expected to be in the variety of $400m to $450m (FY25: c.$ 350m)
* * * This file must be read in conjunction with Vicinity's FY25 annual outcomes presentation and 2025 Annual Report launched to the ASX today. A rundown by management elaborating on this announcement will be webcast from 10.15 am (AEST) today and can be accessed through vicinity.com.au/ investors.
1 Transactions and reversal of prior year provisions.
2 Excludes retailers in The Market Pavilion.
3 Comparable net residential or commercial property income growth omits reversal of prior year provisions, transactions and development impacts.
4 CBRE Research, Australia.
5 Sales are reported for similar centres, which leaves out divestments and development-impacted centres in accordance with Shopping center Council of Australia standards. Unless otherwise stated, sales growth is reported against the exact same period a year previously.