Unitech sells Rs 5,550-cr properties in Apr-Dec

Unitech sells Rs 5,550-cr properties in Apr-Dec
Business Standard, January 12, 2010, Page 4

BS Reporter / Mumbai

Unitech, the country’s second-largest developer, sold over 13 million sq ft in the April-December period. This is more than a four-fold increase over the 3 million sq ft it sold in the whole of 2008-09.

The value of sales booked during the nine-month period is about Rs 5,550 crore, the company said in a corporate presentation. Over 80 per cent of the sales are in the residential category.

“The financial year 2009 was one of the slowest periods for property sales and we booked very limited number of properties. But property sales have certainly picked up (since then), and this is reflected in our numbers,”’ a Unitech spokesperson said.

The company’s average realisation per square foot was Rs 4,225. In the case of residential properties, the realisation was Rs 3,733, while it was Rs 6,401 in the case of commercial. Last year, the average realisation was Rs 4,000 per sq ft, which yielded sales of Rs 1,200 crore for the company.

In the December quarter alone, the company said it had booked properties of around 3 million square feet. An executive said Unitech would now easily reach its annual sales target of Rs 6,000 crore.

Unitech’s net profit had halved during September quarter of the current financial year at Rs 177.6 crore, compared with Rs 358.92 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Developers such as Unitech, DLF and others faced slower sales since the second half of 2008, as buyers deferred home buys to save cash during the economic slowdown.

However, developers are seeing a revival in the property sales as the economy picks up.