Macrotech Developers invests Rs 1,000 cr on construction in Apr-Jun

Realty firm Macrotech Developers invested Rs 1,000 crore during the April-June period on the construction of various projects and will pump in Rs 3,500 crore more by March next year as part of its strategy to ramp up execution capabilities.

Macrotech Developers, which sells its properties under the Lodha brand, has a major presence in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune. It has entered into Bengaluru market as well.

In an interview with PTI, Macrotech Developers MD and CEO Abhishek Lodha expressed satisfaction over the operational performance of the company during the first quarter of this fiscal and was confident of achieving the targeted 20 per cent growth in sales bookings to Rs 14,500 crore.

He said the housing demand has been very strong for the last two years on pent up demand post the COVID pandemic and people’s aspiration to own better and bigger homes from branded developers.

To encash this demand, Macrotech Developers plans to launch 22 new projects by March next year across MMR, Pune and Bengaluru, covering a 9.4 million square feet area with an estimated sales revenue potential of Rs 12,560 crore.

It launched a 1.8 million square feet area in the first quarter of this fiscal year having a sales revenue potential of Rs 1,510 crore.

“In terms of sales bookings, we had our best-ever first quarter. Our sales bookings increased 17 per cent to Rs 3,350 crore. We did not launch many projects in the first quarter. So, the sales were driven by inventories in ongoing projects,” Lodha said.

“We have a strong launch pipeline for the second half of this fiscal,” he said.

Asked about construction spend, Lodha said the company spent around Rs 1,000 crore in the first quarter.

The total investment on construction is estimated at around Rs 4,500 crore for the full fiscal year.

Lodha expects housing demand momentum to continue going forward and hopes that the interest rates on home loans to start declining in the coming months.

The company’s sales bookings grew 34 per cent in 2022-23 to Rs 12,014 crore and it has set a target of 20 per cent growth to Rs 14,500 crore in the current fiscal.

Lodha highlighted that the company has added five new land parcels in the first quarter of this fiscal and expects to generate around Rs 12,000 crore in revenue by developing real estate projects on these plots.

The company has added land parcels in the western suburbs of MMR, Bengaluru and in Alibaug.

Under new business development, Macrotech Developers acquires land outrightly and also enters into joint development agreements (JDAs) with landowners to create land bank for future projects. The company has given guidance for Rs 17,500 crore for new business development, of which Rs 12,000 crore has already been achieved in the first quarter.

Lodha, however, said the company would not revise its target.

Recently, the company reported a 34 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 179.2 crore in the June 2023 quarter on lower income.

Its net profit stood at Rs 271.3 crore in the year-ago period.

The total income fell to Rs 1,671.8 crore in the April-June quarter of 2023-24 from Rs 2,675.8 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Macrotech Developers has delivered more than 95 million square feet of real estate and is currently developing over 110 million square feet under its ongoing and planned portfolio.

The group has about 4,300 acres of land beyond its ongoing and planned portfolio, which will be utilised in developing further residential, commercial and industrial & logistics spaces.