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Centurion Corporation’s net profit increased by 29 percent year-on-year to $49.4 million for the whole of 2017, according to an SGX filing on Tuesday (27 Feb).
At the same time, the dormitory builder’s revenue rose 14 percent to $137.11 million. Gross profit grew 20 percent to $94.21 million, while gross margin improved from 65 percent in 2016 to 69 percent.
“The strong growth in revenue was largely due to the improved performance of the Group’s worker accommodation assets, with key contributions from the newer assets of Westlite Woodlands and ASPRI-Westlite Papan in Singapore,” it said.
“The group also recorded higher occupancy for its workers accommodation assets in Malaysia, as well as increased contributions from UK student accommodation assets acquired in Q3 2016.”
As of 31 December 2017, Centurion Corp owns 26 operational accommodation assets with a total of about 55,148 beds. These include 16 purpose-built student accommodations (PBSA) with 5,348 beds in Singapore, Australia, the UK and US. In the last mentioned country, the group’s maiden private fund, the Centurion US Student Housing Fund, acquired six PBSA assets in Q4 2017 and these are currently managed under the dwell brand.
“2017 was a milestone year for the group. The launch of our investment management platform saw Centurion expand into investment services for the first time, and also enabled the Group to enter the US market. In addition, our successful dual primary listing on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) marked a new chapter in broadening our investor base and extending the reach of our operating brands,” said Centurion Corp’s CEO Kong Chee Min.
Meanwhile, the group has 10 existing purpose-built workers accommodations (PBWA) with a total of 49,800 beds as of 31 December 2017. In particular, there are four worker dormitories in Singapore and six in Malaysia operating under the Westlite brand. Two other similar properties are under planning and development in Penang, with an additional 12,700 beds entering the market by FY2020.
Looking ahead, Centurion Corp’s overall portfolio of student and worker accommodations is expected to increase to approximately 68,288 beds over the next two years.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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