Board of Directors and management, I thank all of our security holders for being present today, whether in the room in front of me or whether online on our webcast. Security holders attending online today are reminded that the webcast is listen only, and you won't be able to ask questions or make any comments. My name is Kristie Brown, Chairman of the GemLife Group, and it's my pleasure to address you today. This AGM marks an important milestone to GemLife. It is our first since listing. This is a formal step in our journey as a public company. I've had the privilege of being Chairman since the time of listing, and it has been remarkable to see the transition, maturity, and strength of GemLife in a sector where quality and community truly matter.
Today, I am joined by my fellow non-executive directors, Bethal Thakral, Alison Quinn, sorry, Alison Quinn, and Mark Fitzgibbon. Also with me up on the stage is Adrian Puljich, Founder, Managing Director, and CEO. Also attending today, our CFO, Ashmit Thakral, our Company Secretary, Fiona Van Wyk, GemLife management and team members, Saeed Sadat, the director of and partner of Deloitte, the company's auditor, Russell Beasley, who is a director of the Equity Trustees Limited, which is the responsible entity of our stapled trusts, Philip Hart, partner of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, GemLife's legal advisor. We also have representatives of Automic, the registry of the company. I will start with some housekeeping matters and formalities. Those present in person, please check your phones are on silent. I'll also let you know that bathrooms, if you need them, are located out that door and just to the right.
The business of this meeting is set out in the notice of meeting. GemLife Group companies, GemLife Group Limited, to which I will refer to as the company, and each of the following trusts to which it is stapled, GemLife Trust, GTH Resorts numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 15, and 19 trusts, and I'll refer to those as the stapled trusts. Collectively, the company and the stapled trusts make up the GemLife Group. The responsible entity of the stapled trust is, as I mentioned, Equity Trustees Limited. The shares in the company are stapled to the units in the stapled trusts, which are quoted and traded as one security on the ASX. This meeting is a concurrent meeting of the company and each of the stapled trusts.
Every security holder and proxy holder should have registered on the way in, and all of those eligible to vote should be holding a yellow voting card. If anyone believes they are eligible to vote and does not have a yellow voting card, please raise your hand and see Amanda or Chris from Automic. If you're a proxy holder, please ensure you cast your vote in accordance with any instructions given. As Chair of the meeting, I will be voting any undirected proxies in favor of each item. As appropriate, as we move through the items of business, I'll provide security holders with an opportunity to ask questions and make comments on the different resolutions.
If you are a security holder or a properly authorized representative and you do wish at that time to ask a question, please raise either your yellow or your blue voting card and state your name. Voting on all resolutions today will be by way of poll, which will be conducted towards the end of the meeting. A representative of Automic will act as returning officer for determining the results of the poll. On a poll, each security holder has one vote for each security held. The notice of this meeting was distributed to security holders on the 21st of April, 2026, and I propose to take that notice as read. The company's annual report is available on the company's website for your review and has been posted to security holders who requested a hard copy.
I believe we've also got a few hard copies here today if anyone wants one to take away. Resolutions 1 through 5 are ordinary resolutions and will be passed if more than 50% of the votes cast are in favor of the resolutions, as detailed in the notice of meeting. Persons holding GemLife Group stapled securities as at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday the 26th of May, 2026, were taken to be security holders entitled to vote. I will shortly take you through the formal resolutions on which you are being asked to vote today. Proxies received will be shown on the screen behind me as we move through those resolutions. But first, I would like to turn to my Chairman's address. This is a milestone worth acknowledging.
Our first AGM as a listed company is an opportunity to reflect on a year that by any measure set exactly the right tone for the journey ahead. We listed in July 2025 with a significantly oversubscribed IPO, raising AUD 750 million and building a high-quality, long-term shareholder register. The level of investor confidence in our model, our leadership, and our strategy reflects well on the business. We are focused on honoring it through disciplined execution. More importantly, in our first reporting period as a listed entity, GemLife exceeded its prospectus forecasts. For a newly listed business, credibility matters above all else, and we earned it by doing exactly what we said we would. Our outperformance was driven by higher average home sale prices, stronger build margins, and the resilience of our vertically integrated model.
A model that has now preserved build margins within target for seven consecutive years through one of the most challenging construction environments in recent memory. That consistency reflects the depth of capability across our team and the strength of the platform that GemLife has built. For the Board, FY 2025 was as much about building the right foundations as it was about performance. Transitioning to life as a listed company requires more than strong results. It requires the right governance architecture. During the year, we formalized reporting structures, enhanced risk oversight, and strengthened cybersecurity capability. We also embedded remuneration frameworks aligned with ASX governance standards. Our Board committees are established and functioning well. Our approach throughout has been deliberate to preserve the culture and the agility of GemLife that has made it successful while building transparency and accountability that our security holders rightly expect.
I speak for the Board when I say we are pleased with the progress made and are committed to the continued development of that architecture as the business scales. I would like to sincerely thank my fellow non-executive directors, Mark, Alison, and Bethal, for your counsel and your commitment during what has been an intensive year of transition. Your stewardship and judgment have been invaluable. A defining feature of GemLife is the strength and flexibility of its capital position. The business has demonstrated a clear capacity to fund growth from internally generated capital. Our recent site acquisition in Townsville is a good example of that discipline in action. At the same time, the board recognizes that a pipeline of this scale and ambition will, over time, benefit from a range of capital sources, whether internal, debt, or equity.
What matters not is the source of capital but the quality of the decisions that are made with it. The Board's focus is firmly on sustainable value accretive growth, building out our communities in a measured, responsible way that creates long-term value for security holders. Growth for its own sake has never been GemLife's philosophy, and nor will it become one. At the heart of GemLife is a simple but powerful idea that Australians over 50 deserve beautifully designed homes, vibrant communities, and the freedom to live life on their own terms. Everything we build is shaped by that belief. Australia's growing over 50s cohort is one of the most significant demographic forces in the country, and the demand for thoughtfully designed resort-style facilities that support independence, connection, and an active lifestyle has never been greater. GemLife is not simply responding to that demand.
We are helping to define what is possible within the sector. For our homeowners, the GemLife experience is about so much more than a home. It's about belonging to a community that is genuinely designed around them, from the architecture and the amenities to the relationships and rhythms of daily life. That is what we are most proud of, and it is what continues to draw people to our communities from across the country. The structural drivers underpinning this sector are compelling. The supply of purpose-built communities remains constrained relative to demand, and the land lease model continues to gain broader awareness and acceptance among Australia's over 50s population. That combination gives the Board real confidence in GemLife's long-term growth trajectory. As our communities mature and our homeowner base grows, the foundation we are building becomes stronger with every passing year.
I would like to close by acknowledging the GemLife team, whose professionalism and dedication create the communities that our homeowners love. It is your hard work that gives this business its heart. I would also like to acknowledge Adrian and Ashmit personally. Leading a business through an IPO while continuing to execute at the level you have is no small feat. The standard you have both set in your leadership, your communication with the Board, your commitment, and your integrity has been genuinely impressive. Thank you on behalf of the Board. Lastly, though last in order only and not by importance, to our security holders, thank you for your confidence and your belief in what GemLife is building. We entered this chapter with a commitment to deliver, and your trust in that commitment is something we carry with genuine responsibility and dedicate ourselves to earning every year.
I think you've had enough of listening to me for a little while, so I'm going to invite Adrian to present his CEO presentation.
Thank you, Kristie. I wish to extend a warm welcome to those in attendance today, our security holders, subcontractors, and suppliers throughout the GemLife network, and most importantly, our valued homeowners. Without your continued investment and support, GemLife's enduring success and growth story would not be possible. I stand before you today with immense pride to present the CEO's address at GemLife's first annual general meeting as a listed company. Listing on the ASX was an important milestone for the group, an achievement derived from the many years of selfless service by a dedicated team of placemakers who embody the GemLife spirit of community, fun, and friendship. It also marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for GemLife as we continue to scale the platform and expand our communities nationally. FY 2025 was more than just a milestone year for GemLife.
It was the seventh consecutive published year where our founder-led, vertically integrated business model achieved gross development margins within our target range of 47%-50%. We came to the market with a disciplined growth and execution strategy, a simple-to-understand operating business model with two distinct revenue streams, and a determined will to outperform. We delivered. FY 2025 demonstrated the strength and resilience of GemLife's operating model as we exceeded prospectus forecasts and delivered growth across all key financial metrics. We delivered revenue of AUD 281.7 million, underlying NPAT of AUD 90 million, and strong growth in earnings per share. More importantly, we delivered quality of earnings.
We achieved this through higher home sale prices, a direct result of GemLife's ability to deliver multiple bespoke home product types and premium home inclusions, strong demand across our locations, driven by a rapidly growing cohort of downsizers, with Australia's over 50 population expected to continue expanding for at least the next 25 years, and disciplined cost control, strong relationship management with suppliers and subcontractors, combined with an inventory-light approach to completed unsold stock across our communities. All of this has been achieved against the backdrop of a challenging construction environment with inflationary pressures, labor shortages, and supply chain disruption continuing to impact the broader residential building sector. Importantly, GemLife's outperformance reflects the strength of our vertically integrated operating platform, built on more than four decades of industry experience and continuously refined to meet the demands of a changing market.
If there is one measure that best reflects the strength of this business, it is our ability to generate and sustain healthy margins. As I said in my opening remarks, we have now consistently achieved gross development margins within our target range for seven consecutive years. During FY 2025, average home prices increased by 18% to approximately AUD 833,000. Build margins increased by 24%. This level of margin consistency generated during the varying economic cycles has proven to be unique and cements GemLife as an industry outlier. It reflects a business that is controlled, disciplined, and designed to perform under pressure and irrespective of market conditions and sentiment. Before I speak to the success of GemLife's business model and approach, I wish to briefly articulate GemLife's origin and purpose.
GemLife is a leading pure-play, founder-led developer, builder, owner, and operator of land lease communities, with a strong operating track record and deep sector experience dating back to 1982 through the Puljich family. Today, GemLife operates a fully vertically integrated business model that delivers premium homes and market-leading resort-style facilities and amenities, underpinned by strong home building margins and stabilized recurring site rental income. At our core, we are placemakers focused exclusively on Australia's over 50s downsizer market, creating communities that support connection, wellbeing, and long-term lifestyle values. GemLife generates earnings through two complementary income streams. The first being development profit, utilizing our proprietary building methodologies to construct and sell homes profitably, while recycling capital into new greenfield opportunities to support disciplined organic growth. Secondly, recurring rental income, retaining land ownership and benefiting from a growing and increasingly stabilized rental income profile as communities mature.
This combination of development profit and recurring rental income is a powerful model that supports both growth and long-term cash flow visibility. Why our model works. At the core of GemLife is our vertically integrated platform. We control every element in the life cycle of developing and operating a community. This includes land acquisition and development consent execution, development and construction activities, including civils, residential, and commercial construction, sales and marketing functions, and community management and maintenance support. This gives us four critical advantages. First, cost control. Our vertically integrated model allows us to work directly with suppliers and subcontractors, giving us a greater control over pricing, labor availability, and delivery outcomes than operators who outsource construction to third-party builders. Second, flexibility. We can adjust product mix, pricing, and delivery in real time.
We define this strategic strength as being a reactionary function that allows us to respond to market forces and successfully hedge against market conditions and economic factors beyond our control. Third, margin protection. We retain value that would otherwise sit with third parties. Fourth, strong working capital efficiency. Holding our own residential building license also improves working capital efficiency, allowing us to collect progress payments throughout the construction while coordinating multiple disciplines concurrently. In the current environment, this level of execution control affords GemLife both financial and strategic industry advantages, instilling confidence in our ability to scale the platform over the long term. Scaling the platform positions GemLife to deliver on its long-term growth ambitions. During the year, we continued to expand the business while maintaining disciplined balance sheet management and remaining within our target debt range of 25%-35%.
We expanded our pipeline to more than 10,400 homes, completed the Aliria acquisition, adding over 3,300 sites, delivered 312 settlements during the year. At the same time, we continued to grow our recurring income base through increasing occupancy and site rental income. This combination, development earnings plus recurring income, is a powerful model. Innovation and building the next phase. While we remain focused on execution today, we are also investing in the future of the platform to support scalability, delivering efficiency and long-term margin resilience while enhancing our ability to respond to evolving global and domestic market conditions. This includes delivering Australia's first vertical land lease community with a patented construction methodology that expands future development opportunities and broadens our ability to capture the downsizer market. Secondly, developing new pocket park communities in urban infill locations, providing downsizers with greater lifestyle choice within established catchments.
Thirdly, prototyping and evaluating factory-built housing solutions to support future delivery efficiency and scalability across the platform. These initiatives are designed to improve build efficiencies, reduce costs, and support long-term margin strength, increase development capacity, and support future volume growth, expand into new regions and markets through more flexible delivery methodologies. Innovation is not an add-on for us. It is embedded in how we operate. Our FY 2025 outperformance demonstrates the strength and appeal of GemLife's communities and the depth of demand from downsizers seeking high-quality, low-maintenance living that supports lifestyle, connection, and independence. We continue to observe increasing interest across all our developing communities and recognize that the structural drivers underpinning our sector are compelling and long-term in nature. Whilst Australia's over 50s cohort is growing at an exponential rate, supply across the sector remains constrained relative to project demand.
Industry forecasts continue to point to a material undersupply of new product over the coming years, creating a significant long-term opportunity for well-positioned operators. We are also seeing increasing awareness and acceptance of the land lease model as part of Australia's broader housing solution and continue to play an active advocacy role across all levels of government and industry associations. With a strong development pipeline, compelling demographic trends, and a vertically integrated platform primed to accelerate growth, we are confident in building on our FY 2025 momentum to deliver sustainable long-term earnings growth for security holders while enriching the lives of our homeowners and improving their lived experiences. What this really means to GemLife. Ultimately, what sits behind the numbers is the lived experiences of our valued homeowners. What we're really building is something much more tangible, environments that support how people live, connect, and maintain overall health and wellbeing.
During the year, we saw this through homeowners like Steven and Nina Butler at our Palmwoods community on the Sunshine Coast. They weren't actively looking for an over 50s lifestyle resort. They discovered it while trying to get closer to family. They visited the community and bought their home the very next morning. Today, their lives are full, from sports and social events to new friendships and a real sense of belonging. What stood out to me, something simply they said, "You feel it every day." That's the product. That's what sits behind our numbers. While the broader economic environment remains dynamic, GemLife's vertically integrated model continues to display its resilience as we respond to increasing sales demand and construction activities across our communities.
We are seeing this reflected in our operational performance with record inquiry activity during March and April 2026, continued strength in sales conversion and pricing discipline, and settlement activity tracking in line with expectations. In response to rising inquiry levels across our communities, we have strategically increased completed inventory and display home stock to support sales conversion and future settlement activity. Gross home build margins have remained within the group's long-term target range, supported by disciplined cost management and continued pricing strength without compromising home quality, sizing, or inclusions. Importantly, our model provides significant operational control and flexibility in responding to changing market conditions, allowing the business to continue operating with a disciplined and consistent approach across all functions. Based on current trading conditions and operational momentum, the group reconfirms its FY 2026 underlying EPS guidance of AUD 0.285-AUD 0.30 per share. The opportunity ahead for GemLife is significant.
Australia's over 50s population is growing rapidly, with increased demand for lifestyle-focused communities that enhance wellbeing physically, socially, and emotionally, quality lower maintenance housing, and environments that support connection and independence. GemLife is designed for exactly this shift. We've built a business with a differentiated business model with two distinct revenue streams, strong margins that have remained resilient despite current economic volatility, and a clear growth pipeline supported by a vertically integrated platform built over almost 45 years. We delivered on our commitments in FY 2025. We're not here to stand still. We're here to lead this sector and play our part in Australia's great downsizing movement. I would like to close by acknowledging the entire GemLife team, now approaching 450 people nationally, whose hard work, professionalism, and commitment continue to drive the success of the business every day. I'd also like to thank our homeowners.
The strength of the GemLife brand is built on the communities we create and the people who choose to live in them. The trust our homeowners place in us is something we value enormously and personally motivates me to continue improving and evolving the business every day. To the board, thank you for your guidance and leadership throughout what has been an important year for the company. Your experience, support, and stewardship have been invaluable. To our security holders, financing partners, and broader stakeholders, thank you for your continued confidence and support throughout our first year as a listed company. We are only at the beginning of what we believe will be a very exciting journey together. Finally, a sincere and special thank you to the individuals who backed and supported the GemLife vision from the very beginning.
My father, Peter, my original partners Greg, Kevin, and Victor, and Michael, together with Bethal and the Thakral Corporation. I'm deeply grateful for your support and belief in what we set out to build. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Adrian. We'll now move on to the formal part of the meeting. I'd like to move the first item of business, which is to receive and consider the financial report, directors' report, and auditors' report for the financial year ended 31 December 2025. There is no formal resolution to be put to the meeting. However, I will now open the floor to questions. As I mentioned earlier, Saeed is here from the company's auditors, Deloitte, and he is also willing to answer any questions that you have on the preparation or content of the audit report and the conduct of the audit itself. Does anyone have any questions or comments in relation to this item of business? Okay.
As there are no questions, I will ask the Company Secretary that it be recorded in the minutes that the annual financial report, directors' report, and auditors' report for the year ended 31 December 2025 were received and considered at the AGM. I'll now move on to the next item of business. Resolution 1 relates to the adoption of the remuneration report included in the FY 2025 annual report. It outlines the remuneration arrangements for the directors and key members of management for the financial year ended 31 December 2025. A key priority for the Board in transitioning from private ownership to being a publicly listed company was to ensure that our remuneration framework appropriately reflects the new environment and aligns executive outcomes with long-term security holder value. The Board believes the current framework provides a strong foundation to support GemLife's strategic objectives while maintaining appropriate governance discipline.
As GemLife matures, the board will continue to review remuneration settings to ensure they evolve appropriately with the scale and complexity of the business. The company is required to put the remuneration report, which forms part of the company's annual report, to a vote. In accordance with the Corporations Act, the vote is non-binding. Directors recognize the outcome of this resolution as an indicator of security holder sentiment in relation to the FY 2025 remuneration. I'll now put Resolution 1 as set out in the notice of meeting, that the remuneration report contained in the directors' report for the financial year ended 31 December 2025 be adopted. Proxy votes received are now being shown on your screen, you'll see that almost all of the votes received, some 99.6%, are in favor. I'll now open the floor to questions in relation to the remuneration report. Okay.
As there are no questions on this item of business, we'll move on to the next. Resolution 2 is that Alison Quinn be re-elected as a Director of the company. In accordance with the company's constitution, Alison retires by rotation at the close of the AGM, and being eligible, offers herself for re-election as a Director. The notice of meeting outlines Alison's experiences and attributes in some detail. I will not restate those today. The Board also considers Alison is an independent non-executive director and recommends that security holders vote in favor of this resolution. Proxy votes received are now being shown on the screen, 99.9% in favor. Does anyone have any questions in relation to the re-election of Alison? Very good. Moving on to Resolution 3. Resolution 3 is that Mark Fitzgibbon be re-elected as a Director of the company.
In accordance with the company's constitution, Mark retires by rotation at the close of this AGM, and being eligible, offers himself for re-election as a director. The notice of meeting also outlines Mark's experiences and attributes. The Board considers Mark to be an independent non-executive director and recommends that security holders vote in favor of this resolution. Proxy votes received for this resolution are being shown on screen, and you'll see that they're also 99.9% in favor. Does anyone have any questions in relation to Mark's re-election? As there are no further questions, I will move on to the next item of business.
Resolution 4 is that for the purposes of Section 208 of the Corporations Act, ASX Listing Rule 10.14, and for all other purposes, approval be given for the company to issue a maximum of 294,643 performance rights for the long-term incentive of the Managing Director and Group CEO, Adrian Puljich, on the terms set out in the Explanatory Note in the notice of meeting. The GemLife Group Employee Incentive Plan is designed to attract, motivate, and retain key senior members, and to align their interests with the security holders by matching remuneration rewards with the long-term performance of the GemLife Group. Following listing in July 2025, the board adopted remuneration frameworks aligned with ASX governance standards, security holder expectations, and long-term retention and value creation.
Consistent with best practice in executive remuneration and corporate governance, the Board believes that part of Adrian's remuneration should be performance-based and at risk, and should include equity interests in the GemLife Group. Subject to approval today, Adrian's long-term incentive will be granted as performance rights. Details, including the basis of the calculation of the number of rights, the performance period, and the vesting terms and conditions, are set out in the notice of meeting. The board, other than Adrian, supports the grant of performance rights and recommends that security holders vote in favor of this resolution. Proxy votes received for this resolution are now shown on the screen, with approximately 97% in favor. Does anyone have any questions in relation to the resolution? Okay. As there are no questions, we will move on to the last item of formal business.
Resolution 5 is that for the purposes of the Corporations Act, and for all other purposes, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, having been nominated by a security holder of the company, and having consented in writing to act in the capacity as auditor, be appointed as the auditor of the company. Section 327B(1A) of the Corporations Act requires the company to appoint an auditor at its first AGM. Accordingly, the company is seeking security holder approval for the appointment of Deloitte as the company's auditor. The Board recommends that security holders vote in favor of this resolution. Proxy votes received in relation to the resolution are being shown on the screen, as you can see, 99.8% are in favor. Does anyone have any questions in relation to the appointment of the auditor? Okay.
This takes us to the end of the formal resolutions, and I now call for a poll on Resolutions 1 through 5. Unless you've already done so, please complete your voting cards for each resolution. That will be the yellow voting card, I believe, that everybody has. After you've had time, maybe if you wave your yellow card in the air, and a representative from Automic will come and collect your voting cards. Thanks, Amanda. Okay. Nobody has any yellow voting cards left? Perfect. Okay. In that case, I declare the poll closed. Ladies and gentlemen, we have now completed all items of business for today's meeting, and we will publish the results of the poll as soon as possible through a release to the ASX this afternoon.
Before I close this meeting, I would like to thank, again, all of those in the room who have come, be you security holders or be you visitors, for our first AGM, and I'd also like to thank everyone who's joined on our webcast. I now declare the meeting closed. Thank you all very much.