The Charter Hall Retail REIT (ASX: CQR) share price is in focus today after the group reported first half FY26 operating earnings of $75.6 million, up 3.4%, and a statutory profit of $240.7 million.
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What did Charter Hall Retail REIT report?
- Operating earnings of $75.6 million, or 13.0 cents per unit, up 3.4% on 1H FY25
- Distribution of 12.8 cents per unit, up 4.1% on 1H FY25
- Statutory profit of $240.7 million
- Net Tangible Assets (NTA) per unit of $4.91, up 5.8% since June 2025
- Balance sheet gearing of 29.2%
- Portfolio occupancy steady at a high 99.1%
What else do investors need to know?
Charter Hall Retail REIT continued to reshape its convenience retail portfolio, investing in new assets while divesting non-core properties. Highlights included increasing net lease assets to 49% of the portfolio and strong rental growth across shopping centres and net lease retail properties.
The REIT agreed to refinance its debt platform, securing a new $1.6 billion facility at a lower margin and longer maturity, helping manage future interest costs. External revaluations pushed up the portfolio's value by $153 million, with cap rates tightening to an average of 5.55%.
What did Charter Hall Retail REIT management say?
Charter Hall Retail CEO, Ben Ellis, said:
CQR's convenience retail portfolio has performed strongly across all metrics over the last six months. The supply of new retail property in Australia is currently around 50% lower than levels seen a decade ago. As population growth continues, demand for convenience‑based retail real estate is rising against a backdrop of limited new supply. This supports strengthening rental growth and attractive capital growth for the sector. These dynamics are reflected in CQR's NTA per unit increasing by 5.8% from $4.64 to $4.91 over the half, driven by strong rental growth, enhanced by cap rate compression.
What's next for Charter Hall Retail REIT?
Looking ahead, management reaffirmed FY26 operating earnings guidance of at least 26.4 cents per unit, representing 4% growth, and distributions of no less than 25.5 cents per unit, up 3.3%. Several transactions are due to settle in the second half, including the acquisition of three new shopping centres and increasing stakes in high-quality convenience assets.
The REIT will move to quarterly distribution payments from Q1 FY26 and continues to target portfolio curation focused on strong, income-producing retail assets.
Charter Hall Retail REIT share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, Charter Hall Retail REIT shares have risen 16%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) which has risen 4% over the same period.
