Unitech reschedules, repays Rs 600-700-cr debt due by March
The Hindu Business Line, March 28, 2009, Page 15
Liquidity position improves on good response for housing projects.
Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee, New Delhi
Real estate company Unitech Ltd has rescheduled and repaid about Rs 600-700 crore of debt, which was due by March 2009. The stock price of the company gained 33 per cent this week. It closed at Rs 35.90 on Friday.
However, there is no clarity on how much of the debt has been restructured and the proportion that has been repaid. While a questionnaire sent to the company spokesperson remained unanswered, a person in the know said the liquidity position of Unitech has improved on several counts — namely the sale of hotel property, funds received from Telenor deal, and an “encouraging” response for new affordable housing projects.
Money matters
Unitech recently sold its hotel in Gurgaon for Rs 235 crore, of which it has received 45 per cent of the payment; the balance 55 per cent will come in April. Besides this, with Telenor’s infusion of the first tranche of investment (of Rs 1,250 crore) into Unitech Wireless, nearly Rs 380 crore has come to Unitech Ltd’s coffers.
This is in lieu of advances Unitech Ltd extended to Unitech Wireless in the past. In addition, about Rs 2,000 crore telecom debt is now off Unitech; it got transferred from the erstwhile consolidated balance sheet of the Unitech Group to Unitech Wireless’ new balance sheet.
Settling counts
The balance debt on Unitech’s books now stands at Rs 8,000 crore, sources said. Unitech’s Managing Director, Mr Sanjay Chandra, had told reporters in January this year, that the company was able to repay or reschedule nearly three-fourths of Rs 2,500 crore loans then due by March 2009; at that point it needed to retire the balance (Rs 600-700 crore) debt. Sources said this Rs 600-700 crore debt has now been settled.
Sources said that in the first phase of the new affordable housing project in Gurgaon (priced at Rs 30-Rs 40 lakh) where the company had offered 150 apartments, the entire stock was sold-out within first 15 days. “The company then launched phase-II of the project and by now has sold 300 apartments (from phase-I and Phase-II). The project in Dadar, Mumbai has also been getting very good response,” sources said.
When contacted, a Mumbai-based analyst said the rally in share price may be in line with the broader markets. “I do not see any company-specific or sector-specific improvement. Even if they have been able to restructure their debt due by March 2009, that is on the expected lines post the completion of the Telenor deal,” the analyst said.
Another real estate analyst from a Mumbai-based brokerage firm pointed out that stock was “oversold and has got corrected now. No one expected the company to default on the loans, anyway.”
The Hindu Business Line, March 28, 2009, Page 15
Liquidity position improves on good response for housing projects.
Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee, New Delhi
Real estate company Unitech Ltd has rescheduled and repaid about Rs 600-700 crore of debt, which was due by March 2009. The stock price of the company gained 33 per cent this week. It closed at Rs 35.90 on Friday.
However, there is no clarity on how much of the debt has been restructured and the proportion that has been repaid. While a questionnaire sent to the company spokesperson remained unanswered, a person in the know said the liquidity position of Unitech has improved on several counts — namely the sale of hotel property, funds received from Telenor deal, and an “encouraging” response for new affordable housing projects.
Money matters
Unitech recently sold its hotel in Gurgaon for Rs 235 crore, of which it has received 45 per cent of the payment; the balance 55 per cent will come in April. Besides this, with Telenor’s infusion of the first tranche of investment (of Rs 1,250 crore) into Unitech Wireless, nearly Rs 380 crore has come to Unitech Ltd’s coffers.
This is in lieu of advances Unitech Ltd extended to Unitech Wireless in the past. In addition, about Rs 2,000 crore telecom debt is now off Unitech; it got transferred from the erstwhile consolidated balance sheet of the Unitech Group to Unitech Wireless’ new balance sheet.
Settling counts
The balance debt on Unitech’s books now stands at Rs 8,000 crore, sources said. Unitech’s Managing Director, Mr Sanjay Chandra, had told reporters in January this year, that the company was able to repay or reschedule nearly three-fourths of Rs 2,500 crore loans then due by March 2009; at that point it needed to retire the balance (Rs 600-700 crore) debt. Sources said this Rs 600-700 crore debt has now been settled.
Sources said that in the first phase of the new affordable housing project in Gurgaon (priced at Rs 30-Rs 40 lakh) where the company had offered 150 apartments, the entire stock was sold-out within first 15 days. “The company then launched phase-II of the project and by now has sold 300 apartments (from phase-I and Phase-II). The project in Dadar, Mumbai has also been getting very good response,” sources said.
When contacted, a Mumbai-based analyst said the rally in share price may be in line with the broader markets. “I do not see any company-specific or sector-specific improvement. Even if they have been able to restructure their debt due by March 2009, that is on the expected lines post the completion of the Telenor deal,” the analyst said.
Another real estate analyst from a Mumbai-based brokerage firm pointed out that stock was “oversold and has got corrected now. No one expected the company to default on the loans, anyway.”
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