Real estate major DLF today reported a 77 per cent surge in its new bookings for the July-September quarter backed by renewed demand for residential homes. New bookings for quarter stood at Rs 1,512 crore — up from Rs 853 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
DLF Camellias — a super luxury project in the firm’s home turf Gurugram, Haryana – clocked a record Rs 1,035 crore in sales, but the firm’s consolidated sales faltered. DLF Ltd’s consolidated sales fell 3.3 per cent on a low base of Rs 1,610 crore in July-September 2020. Last year, its sales had declined 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from Rs 1,716 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.
According to the company, while the super luxury segment outperformed, it has witnessed healthy absorption of its independent floor projects across Gurugram. Issuance of a large number of possession letters during the quarter resulted in the fall at its top-line.
“We are encouraged with these improving demand trends in the residential markets and expect these trends to remain for the long run. Given this positive outlook supported by improved fundamental drivers, we continue with our endeavour of bringing new offerings across segments and geographies. With increasing volumes and well-calibrated price hikes, we expect further margin expansion for our projects,” it said in a statement.
In spite of lower sales, DLF’s net profit surged 67 per cent year-on-year to Rs 380 crore but remained lower than pre-COVID-19 levels of 2019. Last year, its net profit had plunged YoY by 49 per cent.
During the quarter, DLF managed to bring down its net debt to Rs 3,985 crore. At the end of FY20-21, its net debt stood at Rs 5,640 crore.
DLF Cyber City Developers (DCCDL), which primarily represents DLF’s rental business, clocked 36 per cent growth in net profit. Its consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 231 crore, while revenue surged 8 per cent to Rs 1,123 crore as after disruptions in the second COVID-19 wave, many companies resumed office operations.
“Strong business growth and aggressive hiring plans by IT/ITeS will aid in the recovery and growth of this segment. We believe that the long-term fundamentals for the business and attractiveness of India as a service market remains intact. The retail business continues to exhibit fast recovery. All our malls are now operational, though, with certain restrictions. We are witnessing a steady increase in the footfalls and expect growth in consumption across all segments,” the management said in a statement.
Source :business today
