DLF net profit falls 29% to Rs 128 crore

DLF net profit falls 29% to Rs 128 crore

DLF, India's largest real estate player has reported 29 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 127.8 crore for the quarter ended June due to lower sales in the quarter.

The net profit stood at Rs 181.2 crore in the same quarter of last year. The total income from operations also declined by 25 per cent to Rs 1,725.2 crore in April-June quarter this year against Rs 2,314 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Despite lower operational expenditure, tax expenses and finance cost. During the first quarter, total expenditure fell to Rs 1,122.7 crore from Rs 1,576.71 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal, while finance costs came down to Rs 558.10 crore during the quarter from Rs 591.4 crore in the same quarter previous year and tax expense was down to Rs 30.2 crore during the quarter from Rs 91.3 crore in the same quarter previous year.

In a statement, DLF said about 0.38 million sq ft of sales were booked in the quarter against 0.44 million sq ft in the previous quarter. About 0.71 million sq ft was leased during the quarter and the company gained Rs 240 crore from divestment of non-core assets.

The share price of DLF was down by 0.9 per cent at BSE and closed at Rs 198.40. It said announcements in the Budget such as additional tax exemptions for consumers, categorisation of affordable housing as an infrastructure status and tax benefits to the REITs will go a long way in the revival of the industry. It said the market conditions are expected to be challenging and demanding in the short term. "Whilst the company believes that the slowdown is bottoming out, it will take a couple of quarters for the ground situation to improve," DLF said.

"We remain committed to our medium-term strategy of continuing with execution rate thereby creating more stock, which can result in better and faster realisations as the cycle turns. Additionally, we continue to invest to improve the quality of land through payment of government charges and infrastructural improvements and also we are also focused to improve the quality and pricing of debt through instruments such as CMBSs," DLF said.