Operator
Thank you for standing by and welcome to the HealthCo Healthcare and Wellness REIT FY 2026 half-year results. If you wish to ask a question, you will need to press the star key followed by the number 1 on your telephone keypad.
Sid Sharma
[unclear] and in the room is Financial Controller Karina Luck. Before we commence today's presentation, we want to acknowledge the [unclear].
Turning to slide 5. We first need to acknowledge [HMC?]
as the largest shareholder in HCW remains completely aligned with yours and our long-term objectives. As many of HealthCo has approximately $1.4 billion of assets, which includes $562 million [in?]
a 60/40 split. On that basis, in our view, the current unit price clearly does not reflect fair market value.
100% rent collection, 99% occupancy, and 4.2% NOI growth. Financially, our [unclear] had $155 million of cash and undrawn debt as at December, while gearing of 28.5% is well below [unclear], including all 11 Healthscope facilities.
In summary, HealthCo is well placed as we continue to [unclear] to ensure long-term value preservation and maximize opportunities for future growth. Now moving [unclear].
These hospitals are critical healthcare services to the communities they serve and cater for over 300 and [unclear]. We get asked this question a fair bit.
For clarity, this is 100% of the contracted rent with all deferrals [unclear] of these 11 hospitals was independently valued at $1.4 billion as at December 2025, and the valuation represents 100 [unclear] and ultimately reflects the critical infrastructure nature of these assets. Our conviction in our portfolio and strategy remains [unclear] million dollars of proceeds for the lenders that have tipped Healthscope into receivership.
We understand this is well [unclear] for quite some time. We are working to provide continuity of service across all the 11 hospitals, ensure that the [portfolio?]
[HCW?] unitholders and UHF investors.
Our negotiations and discussions with our alternatives and provide an update to our investors who are eager to understand directionally where some of these discussions are heading. Future tenant operators for the facilities based on a state-based split.
These agreements are consistent with [remain?] unchanged, while rental incentives will be provided to the tenants to ensure sustainable commercial arrangements are in [place?]
asset valuations. The landlords remain in constructive discussions with Healthscope and the [receivers?]
. Last week, we received correspondence from the receiver requesting that Health [unclear] any proposal or submission relating to PurposeCo, which we have noted has been widely speculated in the media.
What is important is we have existing agreements and leases in place with Healthscope. Under the existing agreements with Healthscope, as we all know, this process has frankly dragged out longer than most people have wanted.
[unclear] submit such proposal to us for consideration. Under the terms of the lease, we will review any [unclear] in the Australian healthcare landscape for a very long time, and they have long-term conviction in investing in the Australian healthcare system with our previously stated objectives.
In the absence of any proposal, we will continue to work with our alternative operators. [unclear]
Christian Soberg
primary and specialty care, aged care, and government and life sciences. We continue to manage a high-quality and highly [resilient?]
NOI growth was 4.2% for the half. Around 80% of income is CPI-linked, giving us strong income protection.
Our portfolio also includes cancer care centers, aged care facilities, health hubs, and a nursing college. Government and national tenants account for largest healthcare providers and Queensland Health.
Turning now to slide 12. On [unclear] seeing strong demand for healthcare services.
Turning now to page 13 for an update on our ESG achievements. We expect to share more detail once that project concludes.
On the social front, we maintain strong governance around board composition, [with?] positive social outcomes across the communities we serve.
Overall, we remain committed to delivering sustainability initiatives that drive strong conviction in the value of our development pipeline. That said, we will only seek to unlock its $500 million pipeline.
FFO of 2.2 cents per unit was affected by the non-declaration of distributions from the unlisted healthcare fund. HCW and UHF will recommence distributions once the Healthscope situation has been resolved.
[unclear] with the movement from June primarily driven by an expansion of the portfolio cap rate by 26 basis points and strategic flexibility. Following $77 million of asset recycling in the half, HCW had $155 [million?]
[unclear] FY 2026 outlook on page 21. In FY 2026, our focus remains to manage our capital prudently and don't intend to declare distributions until the Healthscope situation has been resolved.
[unclear] for Q&A.
Operator
Thank you. If you wish to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone and wait for your name [to be announced?]
. Your first question today comes from David Pobucky with Macquarie Group.
Please go ahead.
David Pobucky
Good morning. Can you talk to the wording you used around near-term reductions as well and what would be the duration of the potential incentives if you can talk to that, please?
Sid Sharma
track records and strong balance sheets. The terms include long-term leases, while face rents will remain unchanged.
The incentive [unclear] of those incentives over the lease term, and we have stress-tested the impact of these deals on the covenants. I think the operators provide portfolio diversification, and we believe that the deals will strengthen the long-term quality of HCW's earnings.
theoretically moving in, you may make some assumptions around what impact that could have on capitalization rates, but we just wanted to provide a [unclear]. stress testing the impact on covenants.
The ICR was two times at the first half versus that 1.75... They won't impact on ICR, David.
David Pobucky
Thank you. Just the last one for me, [range?]
of potential paths and... Mm.
...that comes from here, and timing. I know you've mentioned this has taken longer than expected.
Sid Sharma
while making sure that the healthcare system remains available to serve the communities. They're in a really different assignment application.
Contractually, we're obliged to review it, and we will review it having regard to our existing rights under our leases. David, despite all of our discussions with receivers and their advisors, all we know about PurposeCo is what you...
David Pobucky
Thank you, Sid. Thanks, Christian.
Thanks for answering my questions.
Operator
The next question comes from Andrew Dodds with
Andrew Dodds
[unclear]. It'll be 2 years next month since this news first broke around Healthscope potentially going into administration.
I'd just be...
Sid Sharma
Agreed that it's been going on for a while. Just to clarify, though, the receivership is at TopCo level for Healthscope, and a reminder that [fund?]
has also paused distributions and are working shoulder to shoulder with HCW. Clearly, [unclear]...
Andrew Dodds
All right, that's clear. Then just on this $77 mil of asset sales in the first half, are there any more to go, or [tenant?]
negotiations and the percentage for incentives?
Sid Sharma
No, we're comfortable. We can do
[unclear]. Just want to pick up on a comment in the presentation pack around that you have liquidity to fund [unclear].
Sid Sharma
It's predominantly rent-frees, and it's kind of to provide a glide path for incoming operators, but there is some small elements of [unclear].
Cool. Look, I saw Proxima had a bit of an occupancy dip in the half.
Can you just comment...
Christian Soberg
Reisrad, Proxima as well is an attractive location next to Gold Coast University Hospital and next to Gold Coast Private Hospital, which has just been acquired by [unclear].
Sid Sharma
We've been getting better rents than we anticipated at Proxima. We're pretty relaxed about getting the last 10% away.
for $365 million to the Mater, which are Queensland's largest not-for-profit hospital [unclear] the payer ratios from insurers to hospital operators has increased from 82% as short as 3 years ago to about 80 [unclear] starting to recover post-COVID and get back into kind of run-rate utilization that was pre-COVID. More importantly, that delta
[unclear]... All right.
Just want to follow up on the incentives comment. Just to confirm, you're talking about the incentives...
Sid Sharma
to Lauren, you can understand, right, where these are commercially sensitive discussions. We've been specific on our remarks that the [unclear] provide these operators long-term sustainable solutions, and the support we will provide will be over a medium-term period.
Operator
Bell Potter, please go ahead. Oh,
morning, Sid and Christian. Just one for me.
Just interested in an update on trading at [unclear]...
Sid Sharma
You'll see their operating performance generally in the industry is certainly improving. We don't have at the moment all of the data that Healthscope ought to be providing to us relating to operating performance.
Operator
Please go ahead. Oh,
good morning. Just a couple of quick ones.
I'm just doing quick sums. It looks like the revals down about $20 mil.
Just working out if there's any other...
Christian Soberg
The cap rate movement was similar in UHF, similar to the cap rate movement for the Healthscope assets at HCW balance sheet level. Over the equity accounted investment, that's predominantly related to fair value movements associated with the assets in the unlisted fund.
Sid Sharma
Just to add to that, Liam...
the underlying run rate of UHF, cuz our assumption is they'd be making about $40 million bucks on a 100% basis, and revals half and half, and then the $15.8 mil disclosed equity accounted loss. I'm just trying to...
Sid Sharma
Why don't we circle back to you on that?
No worries. The UHF distribution...
Operator
Garfield [unclear] with Morgans, please go ahead.
Liam Schofield
Morning, guys. Just to touch on Richard's question a moment ago.
Just on that rent that you've received historically at some future point. Then also, just what sort of cash flow implications would be required...
Sid Sharma
in the listed fund. The priority remains to resolve the Healthscope agreements and transition.
That's the focus. The focus for this team is just to resolve this Healthscope situation first and foremost.
I know distributions are an important through what is a frustrating situation for our investors. Just on any cash flow...
depends on whether this PurposeCo that's been spooked in the papers is real or not.
Liam Schofield
evaluation of an alternative arrangement, can you just try and lay out a little bit about the drivers of that?
Sid Sharma
Because if it's an incentive [unclear]... that reflects the accounting treatment of those incentives over the lease term.
Also mention spreads, all things being equal, should compress going forward, having regard to stronger tenant covenants associated with the new... range directionally as you're kind of modeling out where incentives are heading to, okay?
These are going to be predominantly new long-term... I just saw the
Liam Schofield
incentive over a period of time, but it would suggest if the valuation impact is of that order, it's got to be a bigger incentive.
Sid Sharma
saying the same thing.
Liam Schofield
Thanks. Then just I know it's an odd kind of observation, but when you look at the...
Sid Sharma
fundamentals perspective, we are real estate owners, and we have collected every dollar of every contractual commitment provided by our operator [unclear] have.
Liam Schofield
Maybe just one last one then. Just around the alternate proposals, can you just confirm that under the...
Sid Sharma
sustainable rents for operators that have a long-term commitment to the healthcare sector, you can assume that the rental rates are
Operator
[unclear]... Dodds with Jefferies, please go ahead.
Andrew Dodds
Oh, hey guys, sorry, just a follow-up. There's a payable of about 40 If that's the case, when the cash starts to be paid?
Sid Sharma
That's correct, Andrew. These are fees due and we will have a further discussion and review that.
Andrew Dodds
That's clear. Thanks.
Sid Sharma
Look, we're, like all of our investors, hoping that our receiver friends are going to submit something forward and bring this thing to a head.
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