DLF net rises 10 per cent but sales drop 36 per cent

NEW DELHI: DLF on Thursday said its net profit for the December quarter rose year on year, after nine straight quarters of decline, and that government policy initiatives and softening interest rates will have a positive impact in the medium term.

India's biggest real estate firm's net profit for the October-December 2012 quarter grew 10.1 per cent from Rs 258.35 crore a year ago to Rs 284.80 crore.

The company's net sales dropped 35.6 per cent to Rs 1,310.04 crore from Rs 2,034.37 crore a year ago, but its revenues in the quarter were bolstered by other income of Rs 981.21 crore, which it received for its sale of its 17-acre land parcel in Mumbai to Lodha Developers.

The company reported a drop of Rs 1,870 crore in its net debt.

Revenues for the nine months ended December 31, 2012 stood at Rs 5,547.29 crore compared to Rs 7,012.60 crore a year ago while consolidated PAT for the nine months period was at Rs 716.10 crore from Rs 989.12 crore.

During the quarter, the company announced the sale of its luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts for Rs 1,650 crore to its original owner Adrian Zecha. This was part of its non-core asset sale strategy to reduce its debt that has cross the Rs 23,000-crore mark.

The debt is now expected to come down to Rs 18,500 crore by the end of March 2013 with the closure of the Aman Resorts deal as well as the sale of its wind power assets.

The company said it continues to make investments in new assets with a capex of around Rs 250 crore during the quarter.