AV Jennings

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http://infopub.sgx.com/Apps?A=COW_CorpAn...idance.pdf

Profit Guidance Update
The Directors of AVJennings Limited (ASX: AVJ) are pleased to announce that following a
strong finish to the year ended 30 June 2015, it is now expected that profit before tax
will be $47 million or higher. Directors previously advised a profit before tax in the order
of $40 million or higher. The expected result was impacted by adverse weather in New
South Wales in the second half, however, a number of material stages of projects were
able to be completed in the month of June that were originally assessed as likely to be
completed after year end. Whilst assessment of the asset carrying values as at
30 June 2015 is continuing and has not been finalised, further material adjustments are
not expected.
Directors remain confident of strong residential market conditions continuing and look
forward to providing more commentary on this when the final results for the year ended
30 June 2015 are released. This is anticipated to be around Thursday, 20 August 2015.

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Simon's bet down under is paying off though mkt has yet to fully appreciate the turnaround...

AVJennings upgrades earnings estimates
Nick Lenaghan
391 words
5 Aug 2015
The Australian Financial Review
AFNR
English

Residential developer AVJennings expects its annual profit to be near 75 per cent, or even better, than last year's performance as it rides Australia's housing recovery.

The Melbourne-based developer, whose projects span the country, said it now expects its 2015 profit before tax to be $47 million or higher.

The latest forecast comes on the heels of an earlier profit guidance upgrade in May that tipped a $40 million profit before tax, compared with the previous year's before-tax result of $27 million.

On Tuesday, the listed developer told the market its expected result had been affected by adverse weather in NSW in the second half.

"However, a number of material stages of projects were able to be completed in the month of June that were originally assessed as likely to be completed after year end," it said.

"Whilst assessment of the asset-carrying values as at 30 June, 2015, is continuing and has not been finalised, further material adjustments are not expected.

"Directors remain confident of strong residential market conditions continuing and look forward to providing more commentary on this when the final results for the year ended 30 June, 2015, are released."

The upgrade from AVJennings will reinforce expectations among some analysts for the listed residential developers to deliver good news on their earnings outlooks after new housing approvals surged to historic highs.

Weighing against that optimism, the market will be also keen to understand the impact of recent moves by the banks to tighten lending to investors.

CLSA's Michael Scott said analysts would look for clarity on residential developers' volume growth and margin sustainability, in a note to clients previewing results season for the listed property trusts.

"We expect contracts on hand to increase to record levels helped by low rates, strong demand and undersupply, particularly in NSW," Mr Scott wrote.

AVJennings' workbook is dominated by greenfield projects in Victoria, NSW and Queensland, along with exposure in the Western Australian and South Australian markets.

It is developing large housing estates at Cobbitty in south-western Sydney and at Wollert, north of Melbourne, where it is partnered by AustralianSuper on a 2000-lot project.

It also has some exposure in the apartment market and recently snapped up a $350 million infill project in Melbourne's bayside Williamstown.


Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited

Document AFNR000020150804eb850001i

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http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/2015Aug2...eID=366007

AVJ final fully franked dividends 3 cents. This is in addition to 1 cent interim paid. Total 4 cents on last done 65 - net yield 6.15% or gross yield 8.79%. BV @ 87.8, or discount of 26% to NTA

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Directors believe that market fundamentals remain very positive, with continued population
growth, a low interest rate and more stable employment environment. The falling Australian
dollar is also expected to help the economy transition to more balanced growth.
Mr Summers said, “It has been disappointing to see that much of the commentary on the housing
market has focussed on extreme examples or specific micro-markets, such as parts of inner
Sydney, which are then extrapolated into the rest of the Australian market.”
“We believe that a sensible discussion around a number of points is critical. The issue of stamp
duty, a tax that was meant to be eliminated in 2000 with the introduction of GST, is one such
debate long overdue. The Company has for many years talked about the impact of government
charges and taxes and the cost of red tape causing delays that are impacting affordability,”
Mr Summers said.
Mr Summers said it was important to remember that the current market activity in new
residential housing markets in which the Company operates follows a period of sustained
downturn and lack of supply in many key markets.
“Until recently, poor consumer confidence led to a sustained period of inactivity in
many parts of Australia with reduced sale volumes. Added to this, as we at AVJennings have
been saying for a number of years, there is a significant undersupply of housing in many parts
of Australia and New Zealand. It is these two factors, pent up demand resulting
from historical low consumer confidence to transact, and a lack of land supply for over a
decade, that has seen the rebound in the New South Wales market and Auckland,” Mr Summers
said.
The markets in which the Company operates are less affected by many of the extreme
issues influencing other markets such as CBD and inner ring residential in Sydney and
Melbourne. “We do not auction property. Our prices are set to drive volume
not maximise a one off result and there is a transparent system involving banks, valuers and
a high level of competition which tempers dramatic price changes and our market is
predominantly weighted to domestic buyers and owner occupiers” Mr Summers said.
The Chairman, Mr Cheong concluded by noting that, "Directors are therefore confident
AVJennings is now in a strong growth phase. The Company is satisfied that its business
model, backed by recent acquisitions and increased funding capacity, sees it well placed to
capitalise on future demand after a long period of low consumer confidence. The population
continues to grow and the need to provide quality affordable housing to Australians and New
Zealanders remains."

http://infopub.sgx.com/FileOpen/2015Aug2...eID=366007

AVJ final fully franked dividends 3 cents. This is in addition to 1 cent interim paid. Total 4 cents on last done 65 - net yield 6.15% or gross yield 8.79%. BV @ 87.8, or discount of 26% to NTA

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Mr Summers tipped Brisbane to have the strongest upturn this year on the back of lower Australian dollar underpinning tourism and job creation, and also due to the city’s housing prices being much lower than those of Sydney and Melbourne.
AVJ Jennings home run: profit surges 83pc
·     THE AUSTRALIAN
·     AUGUST 21, 2015 12:00AM

0

Turi Condon

One of Australia’s oldest home builders, AV Jennings, has posted an 83 per cent jump in after-tax profit to $34.4 million, with the company saying the housing market is experiencing a strong and deep recovery rather than “speculative exuberance”.
Chief executive Peter Summers said the recovery was being felt in most areas with demand expected to remain strong.
The developer, which has called for stamp duty to be scrapped to encourage more first home buyers into the market, has 1737 signed contracts for the year compared with 1414 in the 2014 financial year.
It settled 1538 lots, a 22.6 per cent increase on the previous year, lifting revenue 26.9 per cent to $317.9m.
AV Jennings will double its dividend, paying 4c a share on September 23, up from 2c last year.
The company expects to sign contracts for 1800 to 2000 lots this financial year.
Mr Summers tipped Brisbane to have the strongest upturn this year on the back of lower Australian dollar underpinning tourism and job creation, and also due to the city’s housing prices being much lower than those of Sydney and Melbourne.
The burst of activity in the apartment sector would begin spilling into house and land projects, Mr Summers said.
AV Jennings shares closed up 2c at 67c.

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Always a good read for one of Australia / NZ landed (horizontal) housing developer... better than listening to all the noise on the streets. SC Global Simon Cheong is the proud owner of the niche housing developer that is legacy of Jack Chia MPH...

I daiiled in for the teleconference this morning... lol ended with no questions asked...

http://infopub.sgx.com/Apps?A=COW_CorpAn...rBrief.pdf

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Singapore’s AV Jennings sitting in pole position for Auto Alley
THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 21, 2015 12:00AM

Lisa Allen

Property & Tourism Reporter
Sydney
Greg Brown

Property Reporter
Sydney

Singapore’s AVJennings group is in the box seat to buy Sydney’s famed Auto Alley car yard site in Parramatta to transform  it into  a­­ ­$1 billion residential and commercial development.

The veteran housing developer, listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Singapore Exchange, is in due diligence on the Church Street site at about $150 million.

But the deal is not entirely sealed given aggressive local development group Dyldam and Chinese behemoth Greenland Holding Group are still vying for the popular site, which won approvals for 780 apartments and up to 40,000sq m of commercial ­office space last September.

The Auto Alley deal comes as the city of Parramatta, in Sydney’s west, embarks on a big urban renewal program, ­including the proposed $2bn ­Parramatta Square redevelopment that is expected to include the construction of five major buildings.

Ray White says about 1200 apartments will be completed in Parramatta in the next 18 months, and claims a further 1677 units have won government approval.

The Turner family-controlled Boyded Industries Group listed the 14.8ha Auto Alley site, which has been used as a car yard since the 1950s, earlier this year.

The family declined to comment yesterday. Agents involved in the deal, including Colliers’ Harry Bui and Guillaume Volz, also declined to comment.

AVJennings recently said it was on track to deliver a full-year profit before tax of more than $40m for 2014-15 despite bad weather in NSW and Queensland. The company said the guidance came after it reported a 42 per cent lift in first-half profit.

The Auto Alley deal comes as other major sites in Sydney are in play, with The Australian revealing last month that Toga was the leading bidder on the $250m-plus William Inglis & Son stables in the eastern suburbs. While Toga was the leader, sources claim there were other parties still in play and a deal was between six and eight weeks away.

The owners of the Randwick property this month finally received approval from the NSW Planning and Environment Department to rezone the site, which is expected to yield a 700-apartment development.

In Parramatta, developers are jockeying for a number of sites that are being sold for apartment development.

Parramatta City Council is running a tender process for the development rights to the Aspire Tower as part of the Parramatta Square precinct, which could become Sydney’s tallest tower.

Developers Leighton and Walker have been short-listed to undertake the construction, while Parramatta-based Dyldam and private company Centurian Custodians are also in the running.

The council has proposed that Aspire Tower will stand 90 storeys, with 700 apartments in its upper levels, a 150-room hotel and ground-floor retailing.

Elsewhere, Colliers International is marketing an industrial site in Melrose Park that could be transformed into an apartment site in the medium term. Expressions of interest close next month, with a $90m price expectation.

Dyldam kicking tyres in Parramatta’s Auto Alley

• THE AUSTRALIAN
  
• AUGUST 29, 2015 12:00AM
  

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Greg Brown
[Image: greg_brown.png]
Property Reporter
Sydney

[Image: 290725-af45724a-4d5b-11e5-8dd1-2cb6f8d6caf8.jpg]
The Parramatta CBD future plan. Source: Supplied
[b]Sydney’s Auto Alley site at Parramatta has attracted a new suitor with Western Sydney-based developer Dyldam believed to be chasing the $150 million car yard which could house a $1 billion development.[/b]
The Turner family-controlled Boyded Industries Group is edging closer to selling the site, after an earlier play by the listed AV Jennings Group did not go ahead.
Dyldam was now showing interest in the site, sources said.

Dyldam did not respond to calls while the Turner family and the agents on the sale, Colliers International’s Guillaume Volz, Harry Bui and Ryan Bennetts, and Matrix Property Group’s Andrew Antonas and John Chancellor, declined to comment.
The site can support a $1 billion residential and commercial development after rezoning last year.
It can hold up to 800 apartments and up to 40,000sq m of commercial space, and is part of the Parramatta Council’s push to change the car sales area to one with offices, retail and units.
The Turner family listed the 14.8ha Auto Alley site, which has been used as a car yard since the 1950s, for sale earlier in the year.
The Auto Alley move comes as the City of Parramatta embarks on a major urban renewal program, ­including the proposed $2bn ­Parramatta Square redevelopment that is expected to include the construction of five substantial buildings.
Lang Walker’s Walker Corporation this month won the rights to build the 68-storey Aspire Tower, with an apartment and hotel proposal than could yield one of Sydney’s tallest buildings. China’s largest developer Greenland swept into the area in June purchasing Church Street’s Crown Hotel, with the group aiming to build an apartment tower up to 185m tall.
Nearby, builder Probuild yesterday topped out the first stage of the Promenade Parramatta project.
Chinese-backed developer Starryland Australia. will undertake a total of 774 units over three stages. Another major Chinese developer, Aqualand, last year paid $130m for a development site sold by the Parramatta Council.
The Parramatta-based Dyldam is riding the western Sydney property boom and has picked up a number of ambitious projects.
The group recently received planning approval to build 900 apartments and 14,000sq m of commercial space on a Parramatta site bought from News Corporation (publisher of The Weekend Australian) last year.
The company, which is headed by Joe Khattar and Sam Fayad, has won the backing of Hong Kong-listed Beijing Capital Land as a funding partner for some projects, helping fuel its growth.
Also in Parramatta, publican Bruce Solomon plans to develop a 100m apartment tower on the site of the Albion Hotel.

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Buyers sleep out
Melissa Merrett

246 words
8 Sep 2015
Whittlesea Leader
WHITPO

English

ENTHUSIASTIC homebuyers have slept in cars during near-freezing temperatures to snap up a townhouse in an Epping North estate.
Ten buyers camped out at Lyndarum Estate to be the first in line when 19 townhouses went on sale at 9am on Saturday, August 29.
AV Jennings Victorian general manager Peter Vlitas said camping out to buy land was not unusual, but he was surprised to see so many brave the cold to keep their place near the front.
Mr Vlitas said he expected buyers to be keen, given the three-bedroom homes were located near existing infrastructure and priced bet­ween $370,000 and $420,000.
He said AV Jennings felt selling the lots — the last in the estate to go on sale — to the “first in best dres­sed” was the fairest method.
“But we didn’t expect a sleepout,” Mr Vlitas said.
First-home buyers Maria and Terry, who declined to provide their last name, were first in line when the townhouses went on sale. Maria said it was important they acted quick to buy their first home.
“We really want to secure the [house] that we wanted,” Maria said. “It’s so close to shops, schools, public transport, the hospital — it’s in the middle of everything.”Twelve of the 19 townhouses were snapped up within 30 minutes, with seven still available. Mr Vlitas said AV Jennings expected the homes to be completed in six months.

News Ltd.

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Simon Cheong has big plans with his S$500m facilities that was recently arranged with DBS...

http://infopub.sgx.com/Apps?A=COW_CorpAn...cIssue.pdf

AVJennings buys Waterfront Place in Port Melbourne

THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 27, 2015 12:00AM
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Greg Brown

Property Reporter
Sydney
Ben Wilmot

Commercial Property Editor
Sydney

Listed developer AVJennings is rapidly expanding its development pipeline across Australia, with the group yesterday ­announcing the purchase of the Waterfront Place project in Port Melbourne, which will have a $500 million end value.

The developer would not ­disclose the price of the site but it is thought to have paid well in ­excess of $50m.

The group, listed in Australia and Singapore, is on the hunt for sites and is closing in on the purchase of the Auto Alley car yard site in Sydney’s Parramatta for about $150m.

The under-construction Waterfront Place development will include 850 dwellings with mix of apartments and townhouses, with towers to be up to 20 levels.

AV Jennings managing director Peter Summers said the company was confident about the state’s residential market.

“The project will provide a significant increase and diversification in AV Jennings’ Victorian business,” he said.

The controversial project, bought from Evolve Development, had seen Evolve in a decade-long dispute with Hobsons Bay City Council and the Save Williamstown action group.

Mr Summers said that, as the Waterline project was under way, it was expected contribute significantly to results over the next few years.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, float candidate Metro Property ­Development has swooped on a prime development site in Sydney’s southwest, paying about $20m on deferred terms for a 10ha Catherine Fields parcel that will deliver 138 residential lots in fiscal 2017.

Metro has targeted the ­affordable end of the housing market and last month bought land at Strathfield Golf Course for $52.5m.

The price was not disclosed at the time, but it can now be revealed that the 850-dwelling project of apartments and townhouses sold for between $90 million and $100 million. Evolve paid $25 million for the site in 2008.

• Sep 8 2015 at 6:45 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 8 2015 at 9:39 PM 
  

Ron Walker makes a killing from Melbourne housing boom

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Prominent Australian businessman and powerbroker Ron Walker has made a killing from the current residential construction boom, racking up $150 million in development site sales in less than six months.

NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/h/v/j/u/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjhr6v.png/1441743325467.jpg[/img]Ron Walker and Ashley Williams founded Melbourne developer Evolve, which has made massive profits in the last six months. contact@joshrobenstone.com
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by Larry Schlesinger
Prominent Australian businessman and powerbroker Ron Walker has made a killing from the current residential construction boom. He has racked up $150 million in development site sales in less than six months through Melbourne developer Evolve, a business he founded in 2003 with Ashley Williams.
In the latest deal, Evolve Development flipped its partially developed Annadale housing estate in Mickleham in the city's northern growth corridor for $50 million to Japanese development powerhouses NTTUrban Development Corporation and Sumitomo Forestry Co Ltd, in partnership with local developer Moremac Property Group.
Evolve acquired what was then a B&B and Clydesdale Stud for $10 million in 2008 and has to date sold 330 lots with the construction and settlement of the first 110 lots scheduled for mid-September 2015. The end value of the project is in excess of $400 million.
In May, Evolve sold its $350 million infill project in Melbourne's bayside suburb of Williamstown to listed developer AV Jennings. The price was not disclosed at the time, but it can now be revealed that the 850-dwelling project of apartments and townhouses sold for between $90 million and $100 million. Evolve paid $25 million for the site in 2008.

SECOND WINDFALL
It's the second time Mr Walker, a former Melbourne Lord Mayor and ex-chairman of Fairfax Media, has made a windfall from property development. In 2000 he netted approximately $86 million from the sale of his shares in Hudson Conway, which developed the Crown Casino Complex among other projects.
Ashley Williams told The Australian Financial Review the decision to sell the 1200-lot Annadale estate, where a further 850 lots remain unsold, followed an unsolicited off-market proposal that was too good to refuse.
"The offer provided a very strong return, which reflected the de-risking and value we have added to the site," Mr Williams said.


He added that he would consider selling other projects "where we can see value and that brings forward the equity return", noting the weight of capital looking at development assets in Australia at present.
But, he said the sales were not a shutdown of the business, with the proceeds to be reinvested in its pipeline of house-and-land and apartment projects.
"The land subdivision market is still on the way up. We see a lot more activity in the next couple of years. The apartment market is pretty heated at the moment with a lot of supply coming on board," he said. "We'll focus on smaller, city fringe apartment developments."
Future projects include a 20-storey apartment tower on Southbank worth $120 million on completion and two big housing estates in the north and south-east outer suburbs, capable of delivering 7500 residential lots with an end value in excess of $800 million.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Ashley Williams is the son of developer Lloyd Williams. They are not related.

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http://bigskycoomera.com.au/



Small trend emerges


229 words
19 Sep 2015
Courier Mail
COUMAI

English

YOUNG professionals looking to break into the property market are buying smaller, low-maintenance housing in the northern Gold Coast corridor.
AVJennings has released two new homesite precincts at its Big Sky residential community, Coomera.
The Taurus and Capella releases comprise 45 blocks ranging between 340 sq m and 928 sq m, across a 3.6 ha site.
A number of smaller blocks feature 10m frontages – a first for the community – designed for affordable, low-maintenance homes.
AVJennings Queensland general manager Rod Chadwick said the smaller blocks had been released to meet demand from young professionals looking to get into the property market.
“We are seeing a trend emerge with first and second-home buyers seeking small-lot homes in suburban areas,” he said. “A smaller house can provide all the liveable attributes of a larger house yet they are more efficient in their use of space and generally require minimal maintenance.
“With prices starting from just $204,900 in the new land release, building a home at Big Sky is very achievable and depending on the design of the home, our buyers will be able to build a quality new home with a house and land value in the mid $300,000s.” On completion, the community will feature 318 homesites, set among a proposed 8.3ha of open space including bikeways, walkways and parkland.

News Ltd.

Document COUMAI0020150918eb9j00053