Sobha Q3 net up 20%; plans new market entry

Real estate firm Sobha Developers today reported a 20 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 49 crore for the quarter ended December, as against Rs 40.8 crore in the same period a year ago.

The turnover rose by 17 per cent to Rs 364.7 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal as compared with Rs 310.4 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, Sobha said in a statement.

The Bangalore-based firm announced that it would launch 11 million sq ft of area in the next few quarters and has plans to enter new markets, including the national capital region.

Sobha sold 7.05 lakh sq ft during third quarter. In the first nine months of 2010-11, it sold 21.2 lakh sq ft, which is 47 per cent more as compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal.

"We are really delighted by our performance in the last three quarters. While our sales have been on a constant rise, the price realisation has also increased from Rs 3,000 per sq ft to Rs 4,000 per sq ft," company's Managing Director J C Sharma said.

Sobha achieved a sales of Rs 1,000 crore in the housing segment during 2010 calendar year, the company said, claiming that it was first firm to do so in South India.

Elaborating on the company's growth plans, Sharma said: "In the next few quarters, we plan to launch about 11 million sq ft and have kept a target of 6 million sq ft of sales every year".

That apart, he said the company plans to enter into National Capital Region, Chennai and Mysore this year besides launching new projects in Bangalore.

At present, the company has 22 housing projects with 8.02 million sq ft, 6 commercial projects aggregating 0.61 million sq ft, while 36 contractual projects aggregating 6.53 million sq ft under various stages of construction.