BackUnitech net falls 28% on lower prices
Unitech net falls 28% on lower prices
PremiumSluggish demand: Unitech managing director Sanjay Chandra says the firm expects to get bookings for 20 million sq. ft in new properties. Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint
New Delhi: The country’s No.2 listed realty firm, Unitech Ltd, reported a 28% fall in full-year profit on lower prices, but said it was seeing a pick up in demand for new residential projects.
The New Delhi-based developer and bigger rival DLF Ltd are focusing on low-cost mass housing projects to prop up volumes and managing director Sanjay Chandra said there was good demand.
Shares of Unitech, which has a market value of more than $3 billion (around Rs14,500 crore), were up 5.19% at Rs82.05 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Unitech reported a consolidated net profit of Rs1,198 crore for its financial year ended March, compared with Rs1,662 crore in the previous year.
Total income fell 22.5% to Rs3,315 crore from Rs4,280 crore in the previous year. The company did not report March quarter results separately, but a Reuters calculation, based on previous three quarterly results reported, showed net profit for the quarter was Rs279 crore, lower than Rs360 crore in the year-ago quarter. Fourth quarter profit was, however, higher than Rs136 crore reported for the preceding three months ended December.
Unitech had been hit by sluggish demand and lower prices in the past year amid high interest rates and an economic slowdown. Its net debt at March-end stood at Rs9,056 crore, while cash reserves were at Rs4,845 crore, the firm said. It raised $550 million in the last two months through share and asset sales, and its debt position was comfortable after rescheduling most of its loan, Chandra said last week. Unitech shares have more than doubled so far this year, after a 92% tumble in 2008.
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