* Underlying annual profit at A$608 mln vs A$607 consensus
* FY15 funds from operations up 14.7 pct
* Expects FY16 EPS of 6-7.5 pct, FFO growth of 8.5-10 pct (Adds CEO comment, shares, industry context)
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Australian real estate investment trust Stockland Corp Ltd SGP.AX CEO Mark Steinert on Wednesday said he expects the residential business to drive earnings growth for 5-6 years, after booming house prices pushed annual profit up 9.4 percent.
Home prices in Sydney jumped at an annual pace of 18.4 percent at end-July, fed by record low interest rates, a rapidly rising population, chronic undersupply, a tax system that pampers property investors and a stream of Asian money.
"This cycle in terms of its uptrend really started in January 2013. So, we think we are only a couple of years into it although I stress we're not predicting that strong double-digit price growth from here," Stockland CEO Mark Steinert told Reuters.
Underlying profit for the 12 months to June 30 rose to A$608 million ($446 million), the highest since FY12, compared with A$555 million a year ago and in line with a A$607 million estimate of 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Operating profit from its residential business jumped about 74 percent with a record 3,742 contracts on hand, reflecting strong demand for housing that has pushed prices in Sydney and Melbourne to unprecedented levels.
Approvals for multi-unit projects nationally climbed 28 percent in the past year to record highs.
Funds from operations (FFO), a measure of underlying and recurring earnings, increased about 15 percent to A$657 million.
The company has forecast underlying earnings per share for the year-ended June 30 to grow between 6 percent and 7.5 percent and FFO growth of 8.5-10 percent.
Last week, property developer Mirvac Group MGR.AX boosted annual profit by 36 percent and locked in record home pre-sales.
Stockland shares were up 1.2 percent at A$4.21 in early deals after the results, in line with the S&P/ASX200 index's .AXJO 1.4 percent gain. They are up 2.2 percent so far this year, beating the broader market. ($1 = 1.3633 Australian dollars) (Editing by Stephen Coates)