High interest rate, poor demand pull down DLF net profit

The consolidated net profit of India’s largest real estate company, DLF Ltd, dropped 11 per cent to Rs 372 crore during the second quarter ended September from Rs 418 crore in the corresponding period last year. The company has attributed the decline in profit to the high interest rate environment, thereby impacting sales.

DLF's debt level has gone up in the second quarter, the company statement said without elaborating on the increase.

But an analyst tracking the company said the debt had increased by Rs 800 crore-900 crore due to sale proceeds from information technology project joint ventures not turning up on time.

In the first quarter, the debt level stood at Rs 21,524 crore, up Rs 100 crore from the earlier quarter.

Calling the environment challenging for the real estate industry, DLF in a statement said high interest rates prompted customers to defer their buying decision.

This, coupled with lower numbers of new launches, led to the fall in net profit.

In the first quarter, the company's net profit was down 13 per cent, compared to corresponding period in the previous year.

Although its sales were up six per cent at Rs 2,532 crore for the quarter in value terms, the sales volume was muted, according to the company. It blamed the delay in approvals of its new launches for the slow sales during the quarter. During the second quarter, 1.28 million sq ft was booked for sales against 2.26 million sq ft in the first quarter this financial year.

The expenditure was marginally down to Rs 1,534 crore from Rs 1,594 crore last year. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) zoomed up 13 per cent to Rs 1,216 crore from Rs 1,080 crore last year.

The company's debt level, too, has gone up. In the first quarter it was Rs 21,524 crore, up Rs 100 crore from the previous quarter. DLF said it was in line with its strategy to divest its non-core assets to moderate the high debt levels. It realised Rs 245 crore from the sale of its non-core assets.