Mumbai-based developer Godrej Properties net profit was up by 33.6 per cent in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013, at Rs 53.2 crore against Rs 39.8 crore in the year-ago period, mainly on account of reduced expenditure due to the lower tax outgo.
Net income fell to Rs 311.8 crore in this quarter from Rs 350.1 crore in the year-ago period. The company added three new projects including two redevelopment projects in Mumbai and a third profit sharing venture in Pune in the fourth quarter, totalling 2.3 million square feet of saleable area. In addition, four new project launches were also executed in this quarter in Ahmadabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, including its commercial project at Godrej-BKC in Mumbai.
The company also approved a rights issue to its existing shareholders of up to Rs 700 crore in the next quarter to fund its growth plans.
Addressing a press conference after the results, MD and CEO Pirojsha Godrej said: “We felt the current valuations were not attractive enough for a dilution of the promoter stake. The rights issue was the most appropriate way to raise money. This will help us fund our new project launches.”
“This year we have a launch pipeline of 15 to 20 new projects including new phases in existing projects. These would be coming up in Mumbai, NCR, Bangalore, Pune and Chennai,” he added.
On a fiscal year basis, the company posted a net profit of Rs 138.4 crore for FY 2012-13 against Rs 97.9 crore for FY 11-12. “Despite the poor macroeconomic environment and relative underperformance of the real estate sector, this year we have seen a revenue growth of 28 per cent and a 41 per cent increase in net profit and 43 per cent in EBITDA,” said Godrej.
He attributed this to the success of the new launches this year in major target markets such as Mumbai NCR and Bangalore. The Board of Directors also recommended a dividend of Rs 4 per share for the year ended March 31, 2013.
The scrip closed at Rs 601.70, down 2.69 per cent from its previous close on the BSE.
manisha.jha@thehindu.co.in