Arvind SmartSpaces reports 118% jump in Q3 PBT at Rs 33.11 crore

The real estate development company of the $2 billion Lalbhai Group, Arvind SmartSpaces Limited (ASL) saw its consolidated profit before tax (PBT) jump by 118.25 per cent to stand at Rs 33.11 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

The company's consolidated total revenue grew by 21.46 per cent to Rs 94.54 crore for Q3 of FY'20, up from Rs 77.83 crore during the same period of the last financial year. 
 

According to the company, the consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 is Rs 39 crore as against Rs 21 crore for the same period of last financial year. 

The third quarter also saw sales of 118,000 sq ft in terms of volume, mostly from residential projects in Ahmedabad and Bangalore with a total booking value of sales worth Rs 61 crore. 

According to Kamal Singal, Managing Director and CEO, Arvind SmartSpaces the company has already delivered seven projects of around 2.8 million square feet (msf) and has other nine projects totaling 13 msf under various stages of development which would be completed over the next 3-4 years.

Further, the company is planning to launch three new projects with a total developable area of four million sq. ft during last quarter. 

"We believe that this is an appropriate time to invest in new projects and pipeline given the fact that due to overall market sentiments, good land deals are available at attractive valuations and affordability for home buyers has improved consistently," said Singal. The company intends to clock the desired growth rate of 20-25 per cent for the whole of fiscal 2019-20.

Singal, however, stated that despite challenges such as overall consumption and liquidity issues, the current stagnant phase of real estate industry seems to have bottomed out. 

"Confluence of factors like regulatory actions (demonetization, RERA, GST), rising brand consciousness/aspirations amongst home buyers and easing of funding constraints —is leading to rapid consolidation in this historically fragmented industry. This paradigm shift, which is resulting in disproportionate market share gains for organized developers, implies that organized players will grow handsomely despite the overall challenges faced by the industry," Singal added.