Ryman Healthcare Maintains Strong Occupancy and Pre-Sales Amid Expanding Development Pipeline

About Ryman Healthcare Ltd

Ryman Healthcare is New Zealand’s largest retirement-village operator and aged-care services provider. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Auckland, the company develops, owns and operates high-quality retirement villages comprising independent living apartments and villas, rest-home care, dementia care and hospital-level care suites. Over the decades, Ryman has built a strong reputation for quality, integrated services and amenity-rich villages that appeal to an ageing population seeking lifestyle, healthcare, and community in one package.

The business model hinges on recurring service fees, care charges and proceeds from unit sales — a structure that yields long-term recurring cash flow supported by demographic trends: Australia and New Zealand both face rapidly growing retirees cohorts, driving demand for organised retirement-living solutions. For investors, Ryman offers a hybrid property-services model combining real-estate value, steady cash flow, and defensible demand — characteristics that align well with a low-growth, high-stability investment strategy.

With occupancy remaining high and development pipelines filled, Ryman enters FY26 with confidence in both its operational performance and long-term growth trajectory.

Operational Performance and Portfolio Stability

Ryman continues to demonstrate robust operational discipline across its village network. The company currently operates over 35 villages with more than 12,000 residents. Across the portfolio, cash flow has remained strong and consistent — driven by high occupancy rates (above 95 per cent), stable service-fee revenue and constant demand for care services. Management credits their resident-first model and high standards of care and amenity for this consistency. Importantly, as the broader real-estate sector faces uncertainty, Ryman’s business model is insulated: residents pay for lifestyle and ongoing care, not speculative property gains, making cash flow less sensitive to market real-estate cycles.

This stability was especially evident during economic headwinds and interest-rate pressures, yet Ryman maintained minimal resident turnover and sustained revenue from ancillary care services (hospital and rest-home care, dementia units). The diversified nature of its care offering ensures that Ryman captures demand not just for independent-living suites, but for a full spectrum of age-related care needs — a strength that underpins long-term demand resilience.

Growth Pipeline: Development, Pre-Sales and Expansion

To support future growth, Ryman’s strategy relies heavily on pre-sales of units and staged village expansions — a model that has historically produced steady returns and managed capital exposure. As of the latest reporting period, the company holds a healthy backlog of pre-sales and deposits from prospective residents awaiting occupancy. This pre-sales pipeline provides Ryman with strong forward visibility for development profitability, mitigating market risk before construction begins.

Several new villages are under construction, targeting completion over the next 2–4 years (2026–2028). These projects include a mix of independent-living apartments, villas, rest-home care units, and hospital-care suites — designed to meet a diverse range of retirement and care needs. The company’s approach of building in growth corridors such as Auckland, Wellington and other regions with high retiree population growth strengthens its market positioning.

Moreover, geographical diversification remains a strategic priority. While New Zealand remains core, Ryman has selectively expanded into Australian markets, aiming to replicate its successful integrated-care village model. Early indicators suggest demand is favourable in Australian states with ageing demographics and retirement population growth, providing a promising new growth avenue for the group.

Financial Strength and Capital Management

Ryman’s conservative financial management continues to support stable operations and growth. The company maintains a relatively modest weighted average cost of debt, helping to contain financing expenses despite rising interest-rate environments. This is buttressed by an A-grade credit rating, ensuring access to capital markets and favourable debt terms — which is especially vital given the capital intensity of large-scale village developments.

Management re-affirmed its long-term dividend policy: targeting a payout ratio of about 80 per cent of cash earnings. This commitment provides investors with attractive income yield, reflecting the stable, recurring nature of Ryman’s cash flows and underlying business model. With pre-sales funds already locked in for several upcoming development projects, Ryman is positioned to fund expansion with a mix of retained earnings and prudent debt, preserving balance-sheet strength while delivering growth.

Demographics and Market Context: Long-Term Demand Drivers

The foundational strength of Ryman’s business lies in demographics. Both New Zealand and Australia face rapidly ageing populations. For instance, projections indicate the over-65 segment will grow significantly over the next two decades, increasing need for retirement living and aged care services. Simultaneously, rising life expectancies, increased chronic-disease prevalence and a shift away from multi-generational family living all add to demand pressure on high-quality retirement villages.

Moreover, affordability pressures and broader macroeconomic uncertainty have made traditional home-ownership less attractive for many retirees, strengthening the appeal of purpose-built retirement communities offering both social amenities and care services. Against this backdrop, Ryman’s integrated offering — combining independent living, care services and community — appears well-sited to capture long-term demand.

Challenges and Risk Management

Construction cost inflation, land-availability constraints, and regulatory compliance in aged-care provision represent ongoing headwinds. Rising interest rates could also impact financing costs and potentially dampen pre-sales activity if prospective residents delay decisions. To mitigate these risks, Ryman has emphasised disciplined cost control, staged and pre-sale-led development funding, and close management of debt levels and asset-liability matching. The diversified village and care-service mix further reduces reliance on any single income stream, helping to insulate the business from resident turnover or localised demand shocks.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Ryman Healthcare enters FY26 with a strong balance sheet, high levels of occupancy, and a robust development pipeline. The combination of demographic tailwinds, stable cash flows, and conservative capital management positions the company for sustainable growth over the long term. Assuming continuing demand for retirement living and care services, and steady pre-sales of upcoming developments, Ryman is well-placed to deliver steady dividends, fund new village build-outs, and maintain high-quality operations. Even if macroeconomic headwinds persist, the company’s diversified operations and annuity-style business model provide resilience not often found in other real estate or healthcare operators.

Conclusion

Ryman Healthcare remains a standout example of a well-managed, demographic-driven retirement and aged-care operator — combining tangible real-estate assets with recurring service-based income and long-term demand fundamentals. With strong occupancy, stable cash flows, disciplined financing and a healthy expansion pipeline, the company continues to present a compelling value proposition for investors seeking stable returns and defensive growth. As population ageing accelerates across New Zealand and Australia, Ryman’s broad village network and integrated care offering give it a durable competitive advantage in the years ahead.