Macrotech posts Rs 933-cr loss in Q2 on provisions made for UK biz

Realty firm Macrotech Developers Ltd reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 933 crore for Q2 due to provisions made for loan given to its British arm for development of projects

Realty firm Macrotech Developers Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 933 crore for the quarter ended September due to provisions made for loan given to its British arm for development of projects.

Macrotech Developers, which markets its properties under the Lodha brand, is one of the leading real estate developers in the country.

Its net profit stood at Rs 223.36 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

The profit (excluding exceptional item and forex) stood at Rs 367 crore, up 28 per cent year-on-year.

The company's total income also fell to Rs 1,761.23 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal year from Rs 2,137.76 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Macrotech suffered a loss because of an exceptional item of Rs 1,177 crore.

The Group had given loans to Lodha Developers UK Ltd and its subsidiaries from time to time for UK projects and has accrued interest thereon, Macrotech Developers said.

"The current economic uncertainty in European countries alongside adverse geopolitical developments, high inflation coupled with recessionary economic outlook etc has led to reduction in expected realisable value of outstanding loans along with accrued interest," the filing said.

Accordingly, a provision of Rs 1,177 crore has been recognised as an "exceptional item" during the quarter against the same, the company explained.

Lodha UK has developed two housing projects in London.

The board also approved raising of funds by way of issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from time to time up to Rs 3,000 crore to diversify pool of debt capital and achieve reduction in cost of funds.

Abhishek Lodha, MD and CEO, Macrotech Developers, said, "We achieved our best ever Q2 pre-sales performance at Rs 3,148 crore showing 57 per cent YoY growth."

The company has achieved pre-sales of Rs 6,004 crore in the first half of FY23, its best ever 1st half in terms of pre-sales, he said.

"What is truly remarkable is that our strong performance in H1 of FY23 has been achieved in spite of rising home loan rates," Lodha said.

Macrotech is developing a number of real estate projects in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Bengaluru.