Gemlife Communities Group (ASX:GLF) outlined a “milestone year” in its FY 2025 results presentation, marking its first full-year result since listing. Chief Executive Officer Adrian Puljich said the group delivered results “ahead of prospectus forecasts across all key financial metrics,” highlighting the role of GemLife’s vertically integrated model in supporting pricing, margins, and earnings visibility despite a challenging construction backdrop.
FY 2025 performance and key drivers
Puljich said settlements were “modestly below” prospectus expectations, but stronger margin performance “more than offset” the timing impact. He attributed the outcome to GemLife’s internal building capability, which he described as a “reactionary function” that adjusts to seasonality and market conditions across specific geographies and assigns different home types to sites to maximize home build revenue and preserve margins.
The company also emphasized that it does not charge deferred management fees, positioning its model around development profit and recurring rental income from retained land ownership, complemented by a home resale agency function (GemLife Resales).
Financial results: underlying vs. statutory
Chief Financial Officer Ashmit Thakral reported pro forma underlying NPAT of AUD 90 million. He said that despite fewer settlements than the prior year, revenue increased and both EBITDA and underlying NPAT rose 10% versus FY 2024, driven by stronger sales prices and margins.
Thakral noted statutory NPAT included approximately AUD 49 million of one-off stamp duty related to the Aliria portfolio acquisition, as well as higher pre-IPO interest costs.
Segment commentary focused on development earnings and recurring community operations. Thakral said both segments improved year-on-year and exceeded prospectus forecasts, with development EBITDA 6.6% above prospectus and 7.4% higher than the prior year (as described on the call). In community operations, management pointed to improvement across key drivers, and characterized the segment’s rental income as stable and consistent with prospectus expectations.
Portfolio scale, pipeline, and operating metrics
At year-end, management described GemLife’s portfolio as spanning 33 communities across four Australian states, with 2,116 occupied homes and 4,107 sites, plus 4,244 sites in the greenfields development pipeline. Puljich said the pipeline provides more than 10 years of “fully funded visibility” for organic greenfields growth.
On operations, management said the company’s vertical integration spans site acquisition and planning through civil works, residential and commercial construction, community operations, and resale activity. Puljich also highlighted that the company holds unrestricted building licenses in its operating states, allowing it to contract directly with homeowners and collect progress payments, which he said supports working capital efficiency.
Thakral said occupied home growth continued to strengthen community operations, and that new agreements provide for site fee increases by the greater of 3.5% or CPI. He also said resale commissions were well ahead of last year and prospectus, citing strong resale pricing and undersupply that is driving buyers toward completed resale dwellings. The group maintained an operating margin of 64.6%, even after adding new communities to the portfolio, and management cited community operating profit growth of 39% per annum over the past three years.
Balance sheet, funding, and inventory
Thakral said gearing at year-end remained “comfortably within” the company’s target range of 25%–35%, with a modest increase driven by investment in early civil and infrastructure works at new communities. He said gearing is expected to increase slightly in FY 2026 and FY 2027 within the stated range before trending lower as projects begin generating cash.
Management also discussed financing updates, including a recent debt facility change that extended maturities to 2031 and reduced the overall cost of debt. Thakral said the company’s debt is 78% hedged, and that GemLife had over AUD 250 million available to be drawn under its facility with “strong covenant headroom.”
On inventory, Thakral said there were 59 completed homes at year-end, up from June, and that 38 of those were already sold and could have settled in FY 2025. He also said the group had 21 unsold homes across 10 communities, and excluding display homes, the number of “genuinely unsold” homes was under 10.
FY 2026 outlook, settlements, and innovation initiatives
For FY 2026, management said its focus remains disciplined execution and margin preservation, and provided underlying EPS guidance of AUD 0.285 to AUD 0.30, described as growth of 20%–27%. Management said it expects to settle over 420 homes in FY 2026, supported by construction and sales activity.
Thakral said the company entered FY 2026 with 246 homes under contract or with expressions of interest, and later in Q&A management stated sales on hand had increased to 301, including 69 EOIs. Management also said the average sales price of the 246 homes sold at year-end was higher than the FY 2025 average sale price, providing visibility into FY 2026 earnings.
During Q&A, executives described active house construction across 10 communities and said several additional communities would start contributing toward the end of the year as earthworks progress. Management also addressed the FY 2025 settlement shortfall versus an earlier figure referenced by an analyst, describing it as timing-related, including homes that could have settled but shifted into the early part of FY 2026.
Strategically, Puljich highlighted plans to expand formats and delivery methods, including Australia’s first “vertical land lease community” on the Gold Coast and “Pocket Park” communities of 50–100 homes in established locations. Management also said the group is in early stages of developing a factory-built home construction method intended to enhance build margins, reduce waste, shorten build timeframes, and improve ESG credentials, while emphasizing the need for a modular product that does not look modular.
On Townsville, management said it had “supreme confidence” in achieving development approval, describing the site as code assessable and citing expected workstreams including ecology and traffic assessments. Executives also pointed to strong local demand and government funding as supportive factors.
About Gemlife Communities Group (ASX:GLF)
