Kolte Patil

This Pune based realtor posted a good set of numbers for Q2Fy14, thanks mainly to its operational efficiency, which helped bring down the operating costs. The company reported a 1.3% (YoY) drop in its consolidated net sales at Rs.187 crore but it managed to bring down its operating costs by 18%. This led to a 73% jump in its EBITDA  and margins expanded by 14% to 32% in current Q2. It ended the quarter with a consolidated net profit at Rs.32 crore, up 64%. This is also on account of higher sales price realization. Sequentially, net profit rose 23%.

During the quarter, the company reported new sales bookings of 0.45 million square feet (msf), same as that in Q1FY14 but much lower than 0.83 msf in Q2 September 2012. Value of area sold stood at Rs 260 crore v/s Rs.215 crore in Q1FY14 and Rs.340 crore on YoY. Its average sales price realization improved from Rs.4783/sq.ft to Rs.5737/sq.ft. In Q2Fy13, it was at Rs.4072/sq. ft. in Q2 September 2012. The company has entered the Mumbai market with a redevelopment project on Khar Linking road.  It launched four projects in Pune to develop a total of 1.8 million sq. ft. With this and new launches in Q3, the company hopes to up its sales volume and maintain its annual run-rate of 2.5 msf. Its focus will remain in Pune though it is now making forays into Bangalore and Mumbai. The company has developed and constructed 42 projects including 30 residential complexes, 8 commercial complexes, and 4 information technology parks covering a saleable area of over 8 million square feet across Pune and Bengaluru. The company had made an IPO at Rs.145/share and the fact remains that today it trades at almost half that price.