Anant Raj Industries buys land parcels worth Rs 860 crore in last one year

NEW DELHI: Delhi-based developer Anant Raj Industries bought land worth Rs 860 crore in the last one year, leveraging very low land prices post the slowdown. “This was a very good time to buy land as prices had corrected and there are still very few buyers,” said Amit Sarin, director and chief executive officer of the company. The company is still negotiating to buy more land.

The last one-year has been a great time in the real estate business for players who have the cash on their balance sheet. Anant Raj has picked up land in north India, predominantly in and around Gurgaon to re-enter the residential business and has launched projects in Manesar and Gurgaon in the last few months.

“We did not buy any land during the peak period of 2007 and 2008,” said Sarin, who is planning to launch about 16 million sq ft of residential area across the super luxury, middle and low-income category in the 12-18 months.
In April 2010, the company had Rs 500 crore as cash balance in the bank and zero debt. This cash has been used to buy land and the company today has a net debt of Rs 700 crore, which it picked up from banks in the last one year.
The Anant Raj Industries scrip was down 1.44% on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.