DLF raises asset divestment target by Rs 5,000 crore

NEW DELHI: DLF will close the sale of luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts, a Mumbai land and its wind power business in the next six months and has set itself an additional target of Rs 5,000 crore through sale of non-core assets in the medium term, the company told analysts today.

The firm's management said that in fiscal 2011-12, it managed to raise Rs 1,774 crore through sale of non-core asset against a target of Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. It has been trying to sell non-core assets to reduce its debt that stood at Rs 22,725 crore at the end of Q4 2012. It reduced its debt by 33 crore in the quarter. High finance costs resulted in the company's net profit dropping 38.6% in the last quarter of the fiscal year.

Fourth quarter income declined to Rs 2,747.45 crore from 2,869.72 crore a year ago. The company's management told analysts that the overall target for asset divestments has been increased by an additional Rs 5,000 crore in the medium term, but did not elaborate on the assets it will divest this time.

DLF had expected to raise between Rs 5,000-6,000 crore through the sale of Aman Resorts, the 17.5-acre land parcel in Lower Parel and the wind power business, but these deals have not closed yet because of lower than expected bids in a slack market.

Net profit for fiscal year was down 26.8% to Rs 1,200.82 crore from Rs 1,639.61 crore a year ago. Total Income, however, grew marginally from Rs 10,144.45 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011 to Rs 10,223.86 crore. The second half of the year saw a one-time impact of Rs 300 crore for the company because of the shift it made to third party specialised contractors.