Unitech home sales rise, debt comfortable
The Financial Express, June 17, 2009, Corporates & Markets, PVIII
Reuters, New Delhi
Unitech Ltd, India's second-largest listed developer, is seeing home sales picking up and is not under pressure for cash after raising about $550 million in the past two and half months, Sanjay Chandra, managing director Unirtech said on Tuesday.
“The company aims to build 20 million square feet of property in 2009/10”, he said, adding the focus was on low-cost mass housing projects, a strategy larger rival DLF has also adopted. The company, which raised Rs 1,617 crore in April by selling shares to institutions, has got more than Rs 1,000 from asset sales since the fiscal year began on April 1, Chandra said on Tuesday.
Unitech has sold two hotels and one office property in New Delhi, he said, to raise funds for projects and to cut debt. It also sold about 4,000 homes in the last two and half months. "Sales are very, very healthy. The market has definitely bottomed out. The volume of sales, which are happening right now, we have never seen before, though prices are down 25-30% from (2007) peaks," Chandra said.
In April, Unitech had said its net debt stood at Rs 8,400 crores and it would have to sell stock and assets to cut debt. Chandra said most of the debt had been rescheduled and the position was now "comfortable".
"We are not under pressure to raise equity capital," he said. The developer got shareholder approval on Tuesday for selling up to one billion shares to investors, but Chandra said this was an enabling resolution and there was no immediate plan for a sale. The shareholders also approved issuing 227.5 million convertible warrants to one of its founder group firms.
The Financial Express, June 17, 2009, Corporates & Markets, PVIII
Reuters, New Delhi
Unitech Ltd, India's second-largest listed developer, is seeing home sales picking up and is not under pressure for cash after raising about $550 million in the past two and half months, Sanjay Chandra, managing director Unirtech said on Tuesday.
“The company aims to build 20 million square feet of property in 2009/10”, he said, adding the focus was on low-cost mass housing projects, a strategy larger rival DLF has also adopted. The company, which raised Rs 1,617 crore in April by selling shares to institutions, has got more than Rs 1,000 from asset sales since the fiscal year began on April 1, Chandra said on Tuesday.
Unitech has sold two hotels and one office property in New Delhi, he said, to raise funds for projects and to cut debt. It also sold about 4,000 homes in the last two and half months. "Sales are very, very healthy. The market has definitely bottomed out. The volume of sales, which are happening right now, we have never seen before, though prices are down 25-30% from (2007) peaks," Chandra said.
In April, Unitech had said its net debt stood at Rs 8,400 crores and it would have to sell stock and assets to cut debt. Chandra said most of the debt had been rescheduled and the position was now "comfortable".
"We are not under pressure to raise equity capital," he said. The developer got shareholder approval on Tuesday for selling up to one billion shares to investors, but Chandra said this was an enabling resolution and there was no immediate plan for a sale. The shareholders also approved issuing 227.5 million convertible warrants to one of its founder group firms.
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