Anant Raj sells subsidiary Greatway Estates for Rs 304 cr

Realty firm Anant Raj Ltd today announced sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Greatway Estates Ltd for Rs 304.12 crore and said the fund would be utilised to part repayment of debt and project development.
In a filing to the BSE, Anant Raj informed that the board at its meeting held today "approved the sale of 100 per cent equity stake in its wholly owned subsidiary Greatway Estates for a consideration of Rs 304.12 crore."
"The consideration received shall be utilised partly for repayment of debt and partly for development of the projects of the company," it added.
Anant Raj posted net profit of Rs 100.38 crore on revenue of Rs 503.11 crore for 2013-14. It had a debt of about Rs 1,400 crore at the end of last fiscal.

In its latest annual report, Anant Raj said it has reduced debt by 6 per cent to Rs 1,403 crore during last fiscal and is considering to sell some of its hotel properties and land parcels to further cut the borrowings.
"Your company is determined to reduce this debt further in the next couple of years and is considering sale of one or two of its hotel properties and/or hospitality land parcels," Anant Raj Chairman Ashok Sarin told shareholders in the company's annual report for 2013-14 financial year.

Anant Raj owns 14-15 prime land parcels for hotel development, of which 4 are already under operations.

The company has a land bank of about 1,100 acres, which is fully paid up. Of this, 430 acres of land is in Delhi, and the remaining is within 50 km radius of Delhi.
"In the last three years, we have acquired 270 acres of land specifically for residential projects amounting to Rs 1,000 crore. A major part of this recently acquired land is located in the premium residential area of Gurgaon," the annual report said.