Unitech FY10 net down 44% at Rs 675 cr

Unitech, the country's second-largest realty firm, today reported 43.64 per cent decline in its net profit for 2009-10 fiscal at Rs 675.05 crore, mainly due to lower margin in affordable housing projects.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 1,197.71 crore in the previous financial year.

The net sales, however, rose marginally to Rs 2,931.33 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 2,889.74 crore in 2008-09, the company said in a filing to the National Stock Exchange.

The company also announced a dividend of Rs 0.20 per share of face value of Rs 2 each for 2009-10, it added.

Unitech spokesperson attributed the fall in net profit to lower margin in affordable segment in last fiscal. The company launched many projects in this segment under a separate brand 'Uni Home'.

Moreover, he said the company had posted Rs 421.18 crore as other income from its telecom operations in 2008-09. The other income in last fiscal stood at only Rs 58.45 crore.

Unitech has reduced its net debt by Rs 3,130 crore during last fiscal, and as on March 31, its net debt stood at Rs 5,281 crore.

In 2009-10, the company had launched over 30 new projects comprising 26.2 million sq ft, of which it has received bookings for over 16.6 million sq ft.

"In the financial year 2009-10, the company made an impressive progress in terms of new project launches and sales bookings. The revival in the real estate market coupled with the company's attractive product range helped it to achieve an all time high sales booking of over Rs 7,000 crore," Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra said.

The affordable housing segment received an "overwhelming response" from the customers across cities, he added.

Of the total 16.6 million sq ft sold, the residential segment comprised 13.5 million sq ft, while the balance 3.1 million sq ft were commercial spaces.