DLF's debt stands at Rs 22,758 cr to continue asset sale

Realty giant DLF’s net debt has declined by Rs 169 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year to Rs 22,758 crore. The company expects to raise about Rs 6,000 crore by March 2013 by selling non-core assets for debt reduction.

In an analyst presentation, DLF said the company “remains focused on target divestments of Rs 6,000-7,000 crore. Proceeds are to be utilised primarily for debt reduction”. According to the presentation, the company expects to garner Rs 2,000 crore from the sale of hospitality venture Aman Resorts and another Rs 1,000 crore from the sale of its wind energy business. The company expects to raise up to Rs 4,000 crore by selling strategic projects in Mumbai and Chennai and another Rs 1,000 crore from the sale of other projects it did not name.

DLF has raised Rs 1,620 crore so far this financial year, against Rs 1,110 crore in 2010-11. It said it had outsourced all construction intensive activities to third parties to improve the pace of construction. "We will hand over 27-30 million sq ft in the next two-three years to third-party contractors like L&T and Shapoorji," executive director (finance) Saurabh Chawla told analysts in a conference call on Saturday. The company has already handed over 9.5 million sq ft to third-party contractors this financial year, he said.

"In the last six-eight months, there has been some slowdown in construction activities due to labour issues. With third-party contractors coming in, the execution risk would go away. However, there would escalation in costs," Chawla said, without giving the details.

Yesterday, DLF had reported a 45 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 258 crore in the third quarter, owing to lower-than-expected sales. It had posted a profit after tax of Rs 466 crore in the year-ago period. Consolidated revenue also fell eight per cent to Rs 2,396 crore from Rs 2,594 crore in the year-ago period.

"With the macro environment continuing to remain unfavourable with high interest rates, commodity and labour cost inflation, the company's strategy shall require patience and caution to execute....Given these uncertainties, the company expects longer-than-anticipated time for its initiatives to take fruition," DLF had said.