Macrotech Developers, a builder that operates under the Lodha brand, reported its best quarterly pre-sales and collections in the second quarter of FY24, citing strong demand for branded homes.
Pre-sales, or sales of residential units before their construction or completion, rose 12 percent to Rs 3,534 crore in the three months ended September from a year earlier, the company said in a statement dated October 5.
“The company has achieved 48 percent of its FY24 pre-sales guidance,” it said. “With the festive season commencing shortly and a strong launch pipeline for H2… the company is on target to meet its full-year guidance.”
Collections climbed 16 percent to Rs 2,752 crore. Net debt declined by Rs 535 crore to Rs 6,730 crore, Macrotech said.
The company said competition among lenders has kept mortgage rates lower than during pre-Covid times. With the Reserve Bank of India likely to lower interest rates in 2024, it expects further tailwinds to demand for housing.
Additionally, the government’s planned rollout of incentives for affordable housing will act as a much-needed demand booster, Macrotech said.
The company added two projects with a gross development value of about Rs 2,300 crore in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
New locations
"With this, Lodha has already achieved about Rs 14,300 crore of new business addition in H1 of FY24, which is more than 80 percent of our guidance of Rs 17,500 crore for the year," the company said.
“Strong underlying end-user demand for branded homes enabled us to deliver our best ever quarterly pre-sales,” said Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO of Macrotech. “This was despite the fact that this is generally the weakest quarter of the year and we had no new locations launched in this quarter.”
The company plans to launch seven new locations in H2, starting with the upcoming festive season, and is confident about delivering on its full-year pre-sales target of Rs 14,500 crore, he said.
"This confidence is supported by the increased conversion rates that we are now witnessing as customers start acting on their need for a high quality home. We believe that India is in the early stages of a long-term (~15 year) housing cycle which will create immense employment and wealth for our citizens, and the trends on the ground continue to bear out our belief," Lodha added.
Macrotech Developers shares gained 1.6 percent to Rs 761.80 at 11.29 am on the BSE on October 5.
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