Anarock posts 36 pc spike in FY20 revenue; aims 30 pc growth this fiscal despite COVID-19 headwinds

Property brokerage firm Anarock has clocked 36 per cent growth in its revenue at Rs 256 crore during the last fiscal year despite demand slowdown in Indian real estate market, a top company official said on Thursday.

The Mumbai-based firm had posted a revenue of Rs 188 crore in financial year 2018-19.

"We have achieved a gross revenue of Rs 256 crore during the last fiscal. The bulk of revenue came from housing brokerage with contributions from other consultancy services that we provide to our clients in retail and capital markets segments," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri told PTI.

Out of the total revenue, around Rs 220 crore came from the housing brokerage business. The company had become profitable during the 2018-19 fiscal year.

Puri said the company's revenue grew on the back of improved housing demand for residential projects being developed by branded developers and marketed by organised brokerage houses.

"Home buyers are largely gravitating towards ready-to-move-in inventory or near completion projects," he added.

Asked about the revenue outlook for this fiscal year, Puri said the company has set a target of 30 per cent growth despite the outbreak of coronavirus.

"We remain confident that we will come very close to this target despite COVID-19 as our digital sales platform has already outperformed our estimates.

End-users are actively on the market and we will align our efforts with the dynamics of this demand as consumer behaviour unfolds over the next 8-10 weeks," he added.

Housing segment has been facing a multi-year demand slowdown because of high prices and default in execution of projects by many builders, particularly in the national capital region.

The pain in the sector has been further aggravated due to nationwide lockdown, which has brought construction and marketing activities to a grinding halt.

To mitigate the impact, real estate developers and brokerage houses are adopting digital tools to achieve new sales bookings.

Anarock was formed by Puri in April 2017 after quitting global property consultant JLL India where he worked for a decade as chairman and country head. He bought the residential brokerage arm of JLL to start his business.

The company currently 1has ,800 employees across 14 offices in major cities of India and two facilities in UAE to tap non-resident Indians looking to buy real estate in India.