Real estate firm Ansal Properties & Infrastructure today said it was planning to reduce its debt by about Rs 350 crore in 2011-12 through its cash flows, which is expected to be around Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal.
The company currently has a net debt of Rs 1,484 crore as on March 31, 2011. It has come down from Rs 1,630 crore a year ago.
"We want to reduce our debt significantly during this fiscal. Our target is to repay about Rs 350 crore of debt... The company, in fact, plans to reduce more in 2011-12," Ansal API Assistant Vice President (Investor Relations) Dinesh C Gupta said.
The company is expecting an operational cash flow of about Rs 2,000 crore in this fiscal, he added.
"Out of the total generation, about Rs 1,400 crore is expected to be utilised, excluding land investment. From the surplus, we will reduce our debt by Rs 350 crore," Gupta said.
After repayment of debt, the company will have the freedom to either consolidate its land bank or to pay dividend to the shareholders from the remaining Rs 250 crore, he added.
In 2010-11, the board of the company recommended a dividend of Rs 0.50 per equity share of Rs 5 each for 2010-11.
Besides, the company is in advanced stages of discussions to raise up to Rs 500 crore through private equity deals.
"We are at present talking to four PE firms. We are targeting to raise up to Rs 500 crore in the next three months," Gupta said, without sharing any detail.
The company plans to raise the amount from private equity players by diluting its stake in 3-4 townships to fund its ongoing construction activities.
The National Capital-based real estate developer at present has a net land bank of over 8,500 acres in various locations across the country.
Last week, the company had reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 13.55 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, compared to a loss of Rs 31 lakh in the year-ago period due to robust demand.
During the fourth quarter, the company's consolidated net sales increased by 61.32% to Rs 330.16 crore from Rs 204.66 crore in the same period last year.
For the entire 2010-11, the consolidated net profit of the company soared by 52.16% to Rs 108.05 crore from Rs 71.01 crore in the previous fiscal.
The consolidated net sales in FY'11 jumped by 48.68% to Rs 1,287.82 crore from Rs 866.14 crore in FY'10.
