Centurion Corporation Ltd posted net profit attributable to shareholders of S$114.76 million for the year ended Dec 31 2025, a 67 per cent decline year-on-year, as sharply lower fair-value gains on investment properties and one-off listing expenses outpaced growth in its core accommodation business.
Earnings per share slipped to 13.65 Singapore cents from 41.01 cents a year earlier. The board has proposed a final one-tier tax-exempt cash dividend of 2.0 cents per share, unchanged from the prior year, on top of the 2.0-cent interim dividend (FY 2024: 1.5 cents). It also plans a special distribution in specie of up to 84.08 million Centurion Accommodation REIT (CAREIT) units on the basis of one unit for every 10 Centurion shares held. Record and payment dates have yet to be announced.
Group revenue rose 17 per cent to S$295.94 million, lifted by continued rental-rate revisions and the first-time consolidation of Singapore’s Westlite Mandai and Westlite Ubi worker dormitories as well as contributions from the Harum Megah portfolio in Malaysia. By segment, worker accommodation generated S$233.44 million (+20 per cent) while student accommodation contributed S$59.84 million (+3 per cent). Segment results before finance costs stood at S$132.60 million for worker accommodation (+2 per cent) and S$34.07 million for student housing (+17 per cent).
Core business profit – which strips out fair-value movements, related deferred taxes, forex reclassifications and costs tied to the CAREIT spin-off – increased 26 per cent to S$139.20 million. However, reported profit weakened as net fair-value changes swung to a S$9.20 million loss (FY 2024: S$219.13 million gain) and the group booked S$18.75 million of listing and spin-off expenses.
The balance sheet remained strong: cash and bank balances surged to S$373.09 million (FY 2024: S$88.97 million) after the S$816 million IPO proceeds from CAREIT. Investment properties grew to S$2.68 billion following the acquisitions of Westlite Mandai, Westlite Juniper and the Harum Megah portfolio. Net gearing eased to 12 per cent from 29 per cent.
Looking ahead, Centurion intends to expand capacity in Singapore through redevelopment at Westlite Ubi and additional beds at Westlite Toh Guan and Westlite Mandai, while it pursues further projects in Malaysia under the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing Act. In student housing, developments include a 225-bed scheme at William Road in London, the 732-bed Epiisod Macquarie Park in Sydney (completed 1Q 2026) and projects in Melbourne and Perth. The group is also assessing build-to-rent opportunities in China and potential worker-accommodation ventures in the Middle East and Australia’s mining regions.
Management reiterated its focus on growing assets under management via CAREIT, targeting recurrent income streams from owned operations, management fees and distribution income, while recycling capital through asset spin-offs and joint ventures to fund scalable expansion.