Unitech net falls 37%

Realty firm Unitech on Monday reported 36.8 per cent dip in consolidated net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010 at Rs 111.4 crore due to losses incurred by disposal of a capital asset.

The company had posted net profit of Rs 176 crore in the corresponding period previous year, Unitech said in a statement.

The consolidated total income during the quarter this financial year also fell by 14.8 per cent to Rs 659.8 crore from Rs 774.5 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

“Profit during the quarter was adversely impacted by an extraordinary, non-operating loss of Rs 37.6 crore on account of disposal of a capital asset,” the company said.

The company reduced net debt in realty operations by Rs 555 crore to Rs 4,617.5 crore, as on December 31, 2010.

The company’s worker strength in the quarter this financial year increased to 22,461 from around 19,000 in the previous quarter, the statement said.

“While the demand and pricing environment for residential product is stable, there has been a marked improvement in the demand for office space. We are working on a wide array of projects to tap this growing demand,” Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra said.

In the coming three months, the company is planning to launch projects with about 10 million sq ft of saleable area across the country in mid and affordable housing category.

The shares of the company on Monday closed 3.87 per cent up at Rs 36.2 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange