Godrej Properties to add over 10 housing projects to development portfolio in FY23.
Godrej Properties, the real estate development arm of Godrej Group, is expected to add at least 10 new residential projects to its current development portfolio nationwide by the end of March, a senior company official said.
These additions will come through the formation of the current alliance model and even outright land purchases, aided by its strong balance sheet.
“The average project size added to the portfolio is likely to be between 1.5 and 2 million square feet. However, it may vary based on location and opportunities...Many of our new projects are so large that they will match our higher economic importance," said Pirojsha Godrej, CEO Godrej Properties told ET.
The Godrej Group company aims to use its brand and financial position to seize consolidation opportunities in difficult situations that arise in the real estate sector.
Industry experts believe that the continued market consolidation in favor of large and established developers will gain momentum in the current market environment due to their superior execution power and access to liquidity than smaller developers.
The company has also raised money to drive consolidation through the use of additional capital and significantly strengthen its development portfolio. It currently has a $1 billion war chest to support its growth plans.
Godrej Properties added 3 new projects totaling approximately 6.1 million square feet of marketable space to its development portfolio in the quarter ended March. These include a 50 hectare project in Sonipat of the National Capital Region (NCR), a 33 hectare project on Bannerghatta Road in Bangalore and a 9 hectare project in Pimpri Chinchwad.
Of these newly added projects, Bangalore and Pimpri Chinchwad are 100% owned by the project. He's also added a few other housing projects over the past month.
“The real estate sector strengthened in FY22 and we expect the sector to grow strongly in the coming years. We are pleased to close the fiscal year with our annual sales, best fundraisers and earnings ever. With a strong launch pipeline, balance sheet and sectoral tailwind, we look forward to building on this momentum in FY23,” said Godrej.
The company reported its best ever quarterly sales, up 23% yoy and sequentially increasing book value by 111% to Rs. 3,248 crore in the fourth quarter. It has the highest quarterly and annual residential collections ever with Rs. 2,678 million residential collections in the March quarter and Rs. 6,907 crore in the 2021-22 financial year.
The developer reported a net profit of Rs. 260 crore for the quarter ended March from a net loss of Rs. 192 crore a year ago. Total sales increased by 191% to Rs. 1,476 million dollars.
While the cost of construction raw materials has increased, the company has already increased the prices of its projects by 7-10% in the past quarter. Godrej expects this to lead to an improvement in its operating margins as price increases linked to strong demand have already been well received by the market.
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