Unitech sells a fourth of its launched projects

The New Delhi-based firm has sold over 2,000 residential units

Unitech Ltd, the country’s second-biggest real estate developer, has sold more than a quarter of its launched projects in the first two months of the financial year as it tweaked its product mix and lowered prices.

The New Delhi-based company, which had launched 9 million square feet of residential space, has sold 2.5 million square feet (over 2,000 units). The developer has been able to garner as much as Rs 850 crore from the sale, according to a presentation the developer made to its investors earlier this month.

“We have received an overwhelming response to our residential projects. The strategy of launching the projects at an average Rs 3,000 per sq ft is paying off,” said a company official.

Unitech has launched two residential projects in Gurgaon, three in Kolkata and two in Chennai. The company is also offering residential plots at its Noida and Kolkata projects.

In Gurgaon, the cost of a Unitech apartment is Rs 26-28 lakh, while in Kolkata the price of an apartment starts from Rs 15 lakh. The apartments are between 800 sq ft and 1,500 sq ft in size.

“The company has over Rs 2,000 crore of debt obligations for the current financial year and it is marketing its projects aggressively to raise money from its residential projects to be able to clear its debt,” the official said.

At these prices, the company should not find it difficult to sell its projects, said a Mumbai-based equity analyst.

The company plans to launch 30 million square feet of space across 40 projects in the current financial year. The proposed projects will span 15 cities and seven metros, accounting for nearly 7 per cent of the company’s land bank which is estimated at 11,000 acres, the presentation showed.

Unitech had raised Rs 231 crore from the sale of its Marriott Courtyard hotel in Gurgaon, while it raised another Rs 500 crore from sale of its proposed corporate office in Saket. The company has a target of reducing its debt by Rs 1,000 crore by end-June.

Last month, Unitech raised $325 million (Rs 1,625 crore) from selling additional shares to overseas investors to repay a part of its debt, which is currently estimated at Rs 7,800 crore, according to the company presentation.