Ingenia Communities Group (INGEF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Audio Gap] If you have a yellow voting card, you are a holder, you are a voting security holder. proxy holder or corporate representative and have chosen to vote using a paper voting card. You are also entitled to speak at this meeting. If you have a blue cut, you are a nonvoting securityholder, in other words, you have already voted online prior to the meeting and did not want to vote using a paper voting card here at the meeting. You are welcome to ask questions and make comments. However, you are not entitled to vote. If you have a red card, you are a visitor and are not entitled to speak or vote at this meeting. If anyone with a yellow or blue card wishes to speak, please raise your hand and somebody will come around to provide you with a microphone to enable your question to be heard by all. Thank you also to those security holders who submitted questions prior to the meeting. We will address this during the course of the meeting. Voting today will be conducted by way of a poll on all items of business. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I will shortly open voting. Your voting cards will not be collected until the close of voting, whereafter a representative from the share registry will come around. However, if you have to leave early, please just hand your completed voting card to one of the share registry representatives at the registration desk out. Where undirected proxies have been given to me as Chair of the meeting. I confirm that as set out in the notice of meeting, I will vote the undirected proxies in favor of all resolutions. I will vote all directed proxies given as Chair of the meeting in accordance with the directions provided. Resolutions and proxy results will be displayed on the screen. And if anyone would like me to read out the resolutions and proxy results, please raise your hand and I will do so when we get to the formal part of the business. I now declare voting open on all items of business. There are 3 components to today's meeting. Firstly, I will provide you with an update on the group's recent performance and reflect briefly on the last 12 months. This will be followed by a presentation by our CEO, John Carfi. John commenced as CEO in April 2024 and was appointed to the Board in August 2024. He has already made a significant contribution to the business, including establishing and progressing a clear strategy for the future, which he will provide an update -- we'll provide an update on later in the meeting. We will then progress to the formal business of the meeting, where the resolutions provided in the notice of meeting will be put to security holders. We will allow time for questions and answers regarding the resolutions. Lastly, I would like to invite you to join the directors and management for refreshments in the foyer outside this room at the conclusion of the meeting. Now I'm joined today by my fellow directors and members of the Ingenia team. I would like to begin by introducing our Board. But first of all, [ Share pie ], who is the Company Secretary and will be keeping me honest for the ducts. Next to rest is John Carfi, our CEO and Managing Director; and then the nonexecutive directors, next one along, Jeff for FAG, Pippa Downes, Rob Morrison, Lisa Skinner and Simon Shake. Also joining us today is -- well, I mentioned Threse, Justin Mitchell, our CFO; and other members of our executive team, along with the representatives of the group's auditor, Ernst & Young and lawyers HWL are also in attendance. But before inviting our CEO, John Carfi, to deliver his update, I would like to comment on Ingenia's strategy and FY '21 performance. The 2025 financial year was a period of transformation, guided by our clear 5-year plan. We moved from asset aggregation to operating, developing and enhancing returns for our security holders. A reset of our operating platform, restructuring and the establishment of a new purpose and values have delivered year 1 milestones. This has resulted in a streamlined organization focused on discipline and execution. There have been changes to management and the Board as signaled at last year's AGM. Dr. Jennifer Fagg joined the Board in December, bringing valuable experience in technology, finance and risk. Both Jennifer and Pepper Downs, who is standing for reelection, will speak later in the meeting. We will continue our renewal program to ensure the Board retains the right mix of skills, experience and perspectives. Our financial results for FY '25 clearly demonstrate the benefits of Ingenia's strategy. We have upgraded guidance in January 2025 and delivered underlying earnings per share of $0.309, growth of 33% on FY '24 and ahead of our guidance. The EBIT reached $164.1 million, also at the upper end of expectations, representing 22% of growth. The distribution per security for the year of $0.096 reflects our policy to distribute only the taxable income of the trust as we focus more on investing in development. Our land lease business has grown with more new home settlements than in the prior year. Our Gardens business and rentals businesses have provided steady, reliable income, further strengthening Ingenia's financial position. In the Holiday segment, we saw a 6% increase in revenue from tourism, cabins and sites, supported by additional stable income from annual and land lease site rents. While we -- while our main growth focus remains land lease development, we continue to invest in the holidays platform and portfolio, recognizing ongoing opportunities in this segment. We are making solid progress with our sustainability initiatives, which complement our strategic reset. Building a customer-centric culture and a positive productive work environment remains a priority. Our employee engagement score increased by 4% in this period, reflecting strong support for our strategy and our goals. Residents and guests have responded positively as shown by heightened engagement and favorable reviews. We are advancing our scope 1 and 2 target to achieve net zero in 2035. Our reconciliation action plan or defined as wrap, has seen meaningful progress in our first Green Star homes were completed at Spring side in Victoria. Our governance processes have been further strengthened, and we continue to invest in technology, risk and compliance systems. F '25 was pivotal for Ingenia marking the delivery of year 1 goals and positioning for long-term growth under our 5-year plan. Now looking forward, Ingenia is well positioned to play a meaningful role in addressing Australia's housing challenges. With affordability concerns and demographic shifts, increasing demand for accessible housing for older Australians, the need for innovative and sustainable housing models is greater than ever. Through our land lease communities, Ingenia provides high-quality, affordable homes tailored to seniors, supporting social connection and independence while easing pressure on the broader housing market. The land lease model can significantly contribute to future supply. We are working closely with industry and government as we accelerate our development activity to drive future growth. Australia's tourism sector remained strong, buoyed by lab demand and renewed international travel. Despite cost-of-living pressures, Australians are prioritizing shorter, experienced, rich, local holidays, supporting steady industry growth. Ingenia Holidays is well positioned with attractive, affordable accommodation and excellent guest experiences across our growing holiday parks network. Our commitment to enhancing the digital engagement, increasing occupancy through densification and selectively investing in coastal and regional destinations, reinforces our ability to deliver sustainable returns. Ingenia enters FY '26 from a position of financial strength and strategic advantage. Our large diversified portfolio offers stable, recurring income and embedded growth. The established land lease development pipeline continues to generate improved returns and our streamlined structure enhance scalability. Together, these advantages support long-term earnings growth, disciplined capital management and attractive total returns for our security holders. I would like to thank my fellow directors and the executive team for their ongoing commitment and leadership. On behalf of the Board, I would also like to thank the entire Ingenia team for embracing change and our security holders for their continuing support and investment. Now I will hand over to John Carfi, Ingenia's CEO, who'll provide an update on the group's performance. John?

Okay. Thank you, Shane. Well, good morning, everyone. I'd like to join Shane and welcoming you to the Ingenia Communities Group Annual General Meeting. It's a pleasure to be presenting it by a second AGM as CEO of the group. At last year's AGM, I outlined a clear strategy guided by our 1-, 3- and 5-year plan focused on delivering organic growth and improved returns. Today, I'm pleased to be able to give an overview of our progress in delivering on that plan over what has been a pivotal year for us. I'll also touch on the FY '25 results, recent performance and our future plans. Our progress on strategy has been rapid, with all year one goals achieved. We have successfully transitioned from an aggregator to an operator and developer as we simplify the business, refined our focus and streamlined our organizational structure. This seen us wind up the funds business with the sale of assets completed in February. We are seeing the benefits of an organizational structure that has delivered cost savings and productivity gains with clear financial objectives aligned with a new purpose and values now embedded across the group. These changes and our clear return targets have been reflected in our remuneration plans, providing clear alignment with our security holders. We identified development as a key driver of accelerated growth and improved returns and considerable changes occurred in this business to ensure those objectives are delivered. The FY '25 result demonstrates the tangible benefits of our forecast -- focused execution with improvements in our development margins and home settlement volumes and addition of new holiday accommodation and a reduction in corporate and support costs contributing to meaningful growth. We upgraded our guidance during the year and met those targets with underlying EPS growth of 33% on the prior year and EBIT of $164.1 million, up 22%. FY '25 revenue grew 3% and underlying -- sorry, 8% and underlying profit was up 33% with operating cash flows up 75% on FY '24 to $145.2 million. Further funding was secured as we broadened our lender group and increased our facilities by $125 million on favorable terms. We closed the year with gearing below 30%. Development activity was accelerated with settlements up 13% to 520 homes and growth in EBIT of 25% on FY '24. Importantly, our gross margin and net margin both improved. We have made significant changes in the business, which will be a key driver of future growth and improved returns. We are cycling out of brownfield projects with 3 Queensland projects complete over FY '25 and we are seeing the benefits of changes in production and procurement, which will be further realized as new projects commence. Residential communities, which include our land lease, all age rental and senior rental communities maintain high occupancy and delivered rental growth over FY '25. Our Ingenia Lifestyle portfolio benefited from accelerated development and has continued to experience demand for both new homes and resales. This growing asset base provides resilient annuity-style revenue streams with growth generally aligned to CPI. Our Holiday Parks portfolio delivered further growth in FY '25 with both rate and occupancy gains supporting a 6% increase in revenue on FY '24. Further densification across the existing parks, the addition of 2 new parks, which fill strategic gaps in the network and the launch of new website will contribute to further revenue growth. Our ability to rebuild momentum -- to build momentum, sorry, over the year, while embedding change has continued into this financial year and will drive acceleration towards our medium-term goals. We have seen solid results year-to-date as we maintain focus on execution of our strategic priorities and continue to see demand across our residential communities and holiday parks. With the growing demand for housing, not only for our core downsizer market but more generally, our communities retain high occupancy and the ability to grow our revenue base. At the end of October, our Gardens communities had an average occupancy of 96%. And across our all-age rental portfolio, occupancy was over 99%. We are continuing to see demand for our land lease communities for both established and new homes. Our focus on customer has been elevated in line with our values, and we are seeing positive results there. Across our land lease communities, resident engagement is at 79%. And for our Gardens communities, this metric sits at an impressive 85%. Ingenia Connect, our Activate program and initiatives such as our recently launched Lifestyle Residential app are examples of our commitment to enhance resident satisfaction across the group. We launched our own in-house Inspire magazine earlier in the year, along with ongoing customer focus initiatives, including the home program. Market tailwinds remain strong for our holiday parks with forward bookings up 12% year-on-year at the end of October. We have successfully launched new accommodation to capitalize on the opportunity for intensification as a value driver and to meet customer need, and our new website has improved our customer experience and online bookings. The addition of parks on the New South Wales South Coast and the Queensland Capricorn Coast offers significant upside with attractive returns forecast on these relatively modest investments. While we are forecasting a pronounced second half skew, year-to-date, our development business has settled 166 homes with a further 418 deposits and contracts on hand to support future settlements. Year-to-date, the average home sale price for Ingenia projects is at $639,400, with the average price for JV projects at $885,000 and gross margins stable. Settlements this year will benefit from higher sales rates across the maturing products as we stage the release of homes to align with the delivery of our facilities. We have seen improved momentum post July with steadily increasing volumes across most projects. We are benefiting from our geographic product and price diversification as trading conditions differ across the 3 Eastern Seaboard states. Our exposure to Queensland, the strongest market in terms of sales and settlement rates was enhanced with over 50% of our pipeline in this state following strategic acquisitions in Toowoomba and Yeppoon. Our New South Wales projects are maintaining steady demand with generally higher pricing points and our large-scale Arches Run project at Morrisett now has 55 homes complete. Work has commenced on the first resident facility, which has a wellness focus and will open mid-2026. We have 3 projects in market in Victoria and are soon to commence a new project at Sunbury, all supported by improving market conditions there. We are managing production well across the projects to meet demand while prudently managed inventory and revenue growth opportunities as a buffer against any potential cost pressure. FY '26 will be a key year for development as we accelerate the commencement of new communities following completion of 4 communities over the last 12 months. We will launch 7 communities as we capitalize on an established pipeline to build development scale in line with our 5-year compound annual growth rate target for settlements of 10% to 15%. These new communities will also benefit from procurement and design changes to deliver improved returns, including master plan efficiencies, civil works and infrastructure refinement, clubhouse rationalization, value management of housing options and designs and strategic procurement initiatives. Our new projects are also driving greater efficiencies as we create more sustainable communities that will continue -- that we will continue to own and operate, providing ongoing benefits to our residents and investors alike. With our focus on customer at the forefront, we are not just providing efficient buildings but we are creating communities and homes that support health and well-being, places designed to encourage residents to be independent, active and social. At Spring side and beverage, we have completed our first Green Star homes a leading initiative that is providing significant insight and learnings while providing benefits to our residents. Spring side and arches run at Morrisett have also achieved Green Star Community certification. Finally, I'd like to talk about the future. The achievements of FY '25 position us to deliver our strategic and scale targets in line with our 3- and 5-year goals. We have a solid foundation underpinning our drive towards our target structure and returns with exposure to sectors experiencing ongoing demand. Domestic travel remains buoyant, and we continue to see opportunities to capitalize on our portfolio and platform to support further revenue growth and enhance value. We have a large land lease business, which now represents more than 45% of the group's $2.7 billion worth portfolio and delivered 39% of portfolio EBIT in FY '25. We are accelerating our development activity, capitalizing on our established pipeline and are strategically pursuing further growth opportunities beyond the 5-year plan. While we are cognizant of the impacts of the broader housing market and increasing regulation on the business, we remain focused on the opportunity to meet the growing housing need and to contribute to the evolution of the land lease sector, which has strong demographic drivers and growing consumer awareness supporting growth. We look to the future with a more efficient and sustainable operating model, a stable cost base, greater development focus and diversity of cash flows to support improved returns and efficiency. Over FY '26, you'll see us build on the momentum established in FY '25 as we increase development activity to drive improved returns, continue to selectively invest in our holidays business and target further growth. Subject to no material change in the operating environment, the group is targeting growth in EBIT of 10% to 15% on FY '25 and underlying EPS of $0.325 to $0.34 for FY '26. Before I hand back to Shane, I'd like to thank the Ingenia team for embracing a customer-obsessed culture, their commitment to this year's targets and their openness to change. I'd also like to express my thanks to the Board and our security holders for your feedback and ongoing support. I look forward to providing further updates on our progress as we execute on a clear strategy and 3- and 5-year goals. Back over to Shane now to commence the formal business of the meeting. Thank you.

Thanks, John. Excellent. Look, I would like -- now like to open the floor to general questions for the Board and we have management here for specific questions. You'll also have the opportunity to ask questions pertaining to each resolution when we get to the formal business of the meeting. A reminder that this is a security holder meeting. And as such, only security holders are entitled to ask questions. If you could please raise your hand and someone will bring a microphone over, please also identify yourself before asking your question. Before I ask for questions on the floor, I would like to address some general questions which were submitted in advance of the meeting. We also have some specific questions, which have been addressed directly with the investor. We have been asked if there is a discount for shareholders at the group holiday parks. I can confirm we do offer discounted stays for our investors. These are mailed out annually or can be accessed by contacting our Investor Relations team, who will provide you with discount vouchers for your stay. The second question we received, we have been asked whether the dividend will be increased and if there will be any franking credits available to investors in the future. As noted in the presentation, with a focus on increasing investment in development, we will distribute only the taxable income from the trust and do not expect a significant increase. Based on the existing structure, we would not expect to be -- there to be any franked dividends in the short to medium term. On that note, I'll pause and are there any other questions or comments from the floor? Okay. Well, it doesn't appear to be any questions. So I'll move now to the formal business of the meeting. I'll now table the Notice of Meeting, and unless there are any objections, I will take the notice convening the meeting as read. I will endeavor to give all members who wish to speak a reasonable opportunity to do so and ask that you please keep your questions related to the matter at hand and as succinct as possible. As noted earlier, all items of business will be decided on a poll. A poll has been declared open. This means that each security holder present in person or by proxy has 1 vote for each security they hold. The results of the poll will be announced to the ASX shortly after the close of the meeting. As noted earlier, resolutions and proxy results will be displayed on the screen. These figures will be as at the closing time for receipt of proxies, which was 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the 11th of November. There are a number of voting exclusions that apply to the resolutions being put to today's meeting. These were outlined in the Notice of Meeting. The first item of business to receive and consider the financial report, the director's report and the auditor's report for the group for the year ended the 30th of June 2025. There is no formal resolution required for this item, but I invite questions and comments. I'll take that as a no. And no other questions. Next, any -- Okay. The next item of business relates to the remuneration report. Before we move to vote on this resolution, I'd like to provide some context for this year's remuneration report. FY '25 was a significant change for the business, which has gone smoothly as evidenced by the results presented today. As we have embedded significant structural Board and management change and reset the group's strategy, adjustments have been made to our remuneration structures, aligning them to our strategic goals and the delivery of shareholder returns. In recent months as we have engaged with our stakeholders on our remuneration practices and disclosures. It has been pleasing to see positive feedback on the changes that we've made. I would like to acknowledge the work undertaken by the People and Culture Committee, led by new Committee Chair, Lisa Skinner, over the year to achieve this alignment to respond to feedback following the strike against last year's remuneration report. The People and Culture Committee will continue to engage with stakeholders in relation to remuneration to ensure alignment with security holder expectations and delivery of value for all our stakeholders. I will now put item 2, adoption of the remuneration report to the meeting. And I would ask are there any questions. I'll take that as a no as well. We'll move to the next item of business. And that relates to the election of Dr. Jennifer Fagg as a Director. I now put the resolution to the meeting. But before I open this up for a discussion. I'll ask Jennifer to say a few words about herself. Over to you, Jennifer.

Thank you, Shane, and it's just good morning, everyone. It is my very great privilege to stand for election today as a Non-Executive Director of Ingenia Communities Group. Ingenia's purpose of creating thriving residential communities for over 55s and the Holiday Parks guests resonate deeply with me. Since being appointed to the Board in December last year, I've been impressed by the commitment and passion of the team to customer and community by the focused execution against the 5-year plan and by the growth opportunity ahead of the business. During this time, I have also served on the People and Culture Committee and on the Audit Risk and Sustainability Committee. I bring to the group more than 30 years' experience, leading large financial services businesses globally. Formerly, I was the Chief Executive Officer of the ANZ National Bank, New Zealand's largest bank. Most recently, I cofounded and was the CEO of a financial technology startup offering home loans by over 55s. In addition, I have deep expertise in risk management, holding a PhD in risk and having served as a Chief Risk Officer of AMP Group. Currently, I serve on the Board of Mercer Superannuation, PayPal Australia and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. In combination, I offer to Ingenia Communities both financial rigor and creativity in navigating change and technological innovation. If elected to the Ingenia communities board today. I will continue to advocate the strong risk governance practices that delivers a sustainable growth in shareholder value in our people and in thriving communities where our people truly belong. Thank you.

Thank you, Jenifer. Excellent. I'll now open this item for discussion. Are there any questions on Jennifer? Well done. Thank you. The next item of business is the reelection of Ms. Pippa Downes as a Director. I now put the resolution to the meeting. Before I open this item up for discussion, I will ask Pippa to say a few words about herself.

Thank you, Chair, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen and fellow shareholders. Thank you for the opportunity to address our annual meeting. It is a privilege to serve as 1 of your directors and to seek your approval today continue as your representative. I have been a Non-Executive Director of Ingenia since December 2019 and currently serve as the Chair of the Audit Risk and Sustainability Committee and is a member of the People and Culture Committee. My background and expertise as set out in the notice of meeting and the annual report is focused on investments, capital markets and have broad industry experience across financial services, technology, infrastructure and property. As a Director of our company, I am guided by Ingenia's values and the desire to [Audio Gap] These are focused on our strategy to maximize the opportunities the company [Audio Gap]

We open this item for discussion. Are there any questions. Okay. Well, it's -- I think those are extreme positive. Ladies and gentlemen, we have now come to the end of the meeting. A representative from MUFG Corporate Markets will come around to collect your voting cards. All results will be announced to the ASX platform and on our website as soon as they are available. I formally close the meeting. Please join us for refreshments, which will be served outside this room. So thank you very much for all your attendance.