Q2 Results: Demand Continues To Be Sluggish In Real Estate Sector, Says Godrej Properties

The real estate sector in India faces sluggish demand amid slowing economic growth, according to Godrej Properties Ltd.’s Executive Chairman Pirojsha Godrej.

“The festive season I think has been reasonable but I don’t think there has been any huge upturn in real estate demand over the past few months,” Godrej told BloombergQuint in an interview. “Things continue to be quite sluggish.”

The company, however, expects the second half of the ongoing financial year to fare well. There will be a lot of momentum on the business development side and the sales launch side through the rest of the year and in financial year 2020-21, Godrej said, adding that the company is also hoping to launch 14-15 new projects in the second half of the ongoing fiscal.

In the second quarter, the realty arm of the Godrej group posted a 49.5 percent jump in net profit to Rs 30.8 crore on a year-on-year basis. Godrej Properties also finalised the largest number of term sheets in the quarter and launched new products in six cities.

Earnings highlights:

(Q2, Consolidated YoY)

• Revenue fell 34 percent to Rs 259.7 crore.
• Net profit up 49.5 percent to Rs 30.8 crore
• Ebitda stood at Rs 24.8 crore versus an Ebitda loss of Rs 11.6 crore
• Other income rose 44 percent to Rs 135.4 crore.

Watch the full conversation here: