For its year to June, Metlifecare (MET) booked revenue up from $94.8million to $101.5million. Earnings before interest and tax rose 68% to $133.9million, while underlying profit was up 14%, from $46million to $52.4million.
The combined value of investment properties, including land, under development and completed rose from $874 million to $1.02 billion, while total assets including income streams were boosted to $2.2billion.
However, brokers Craigs Investment Partners said the development outlook was ''disappointing'' and it was preparing to downgrade its forecasts, while Forsyth Barr believed build-rate targets would not be met, posing negative risks to earnings forecast.
Shares in MET were up 1.6% to $4.70 following the announcement.
MET's chief executive Alan Edwards said the company had built capacity and capability into its development team to increase development activity, with the team doubled to 18 people.
''The growth in the [development] team is to support our brownfields opportunities, construction sites and the development of the two greenfield sites at Red Beach and Manukau,'' Mr Edwards said.
MET's development pipeline of units grew 98% to 1578, with development beds up 92% from 3261 a year ago to 502. It has conditional purchases in place for land at Red Beach on the Whangaparaoa peninsula, for a $250 million, 492-unit facility, and 5.5ha of land in South Auckland, at Manukau.
Craigs broker Peter McIntyre said the full year result was ''in line'' with expectations. Unit resale gains improved on a year earlier and development profits grew. Unit completion increased, as did sales.
''The key test for MET's management team will be good execution of developments ... progress so far is disappointing, both in terms of development guidance and margin,'' Mr McIntyre said.
He said MET's revised development guidance was ''well below'' guidance issued in 2013 to develop ''at least 200 units and beds'', from 2015.
''We envisage making meaningful net downgrades to our full year 2016, 2017 forecasts, with higher resales gains being offset by weaker development profits,'' Mr McIntyre said.
Mr Edwards said, ''In full year 2016, we are anticipating a year of continued growth in the delivery rate of new units and care beds, continued consolidation of the development team resources, investment in maintaining our existing assets and further implementation of the employee value proposition.''
Forsyth Barr broker Suzanne Kinnaird said the full result was was in line with guidance and the brokerage's forecasts, noting slightly stronger resale gains of $31.3 million were offset by weaker new sales gains of $8.5million.
She said there was ''slippage'' in the new unit build rate, which meant there were negative risks be included in the brokerage's forecasting.
''For full year 2016, MET is also not going to reach this target, with an expected [unit] build rate of only 122 units and 36 beds,'' she said.
