Godrej Properties seeing reasonable valuations in JVs, says chairman

Pirojsha Godrej says company will look at both organic and inorganic opportunities for growth, is bullish on medium and long-term prospects for residential real estate

Godrej Properties is seeing more reasonable expectations from its partners in joint development or joint venture proposals, said its chairman Pirojsha Godrej in a video call with journalists today.

"Many developers were facing challenging situations even before the Covid. The current situation is increasing opportunities and we are well-placed to use them," Godrej said.

The company raised Rs 1,000 crore via non-convertible debentures recently.

On the use of funds, he said: "We have acquired many land parcels and signed JDs. We have to launch them. We are looking at new opportunities and investing in them," he said.

He said the company would look at both organic and inorganic opportunities for growth.

Godrej said he is bullish on medium- and long-term prospects for residential real estate.

"The short term is difficult to predict. We are going though a tough year," he said.

The company today said it posted loss before tax of Rs 14.69 crore in the June quarter of FY21 as compared to PBT of Rs 140 crore in Q1FY20.

Godrej said, "With the lockdown in place for most of the quarter, construction activities during the period were extremely limited, leading to almost no revenue recognition and to poor operating cash flows. At the same time, our teams demonstrated agility by relying on digital sales tools to achieve strong sales thereby delivering our highest ever market share in a quarter.

He added that the company expects poor reported earnings and cash flows this financial year due to the lockdown and with the major impact this has had on its annual construction plan, he expect strong momentum in both portfolio project additions and new project launches during the rest of the financial year.  

"The current crisis will add further momentum to the process of consolidation that is underway in the sector and we will continue to focus on rapidly growing our market share," he said.