India’s DLF Q4 profit surges on sturdy luxury housing demand
(Reuters), BENGALURU - India's top real estate firm DLF reported a nearly 62% rise in fourth-quarter profit on Monday, aided by strong demand for its premium housing projects and sustained growth momentum from projects launched in previous quarters.
The company's consolidated net profit rose to 9.21 billion rupees (around $110 million) in the three months ended March 31, from 5.70 billion rupees a year earlier.
The Indian real estate sector has witnessed growing demand for home ownership, especially in the luxury segment, which remains little affected by higher property prices. DLF operates its residential properties mainly in the premium-luxury range.
Analysts at HDFC Securities said higher pre-sales growth from the premium real estate segment in NCR (National Capital Region), MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) and Bengaluru has helped raise average price realisations for developers.
DLF's revenue from operations during the reported quarter rose around 47%, to 21.35 billion rupees.
Shares of DLF, the heaviest stock on the Nifty realty index, rose 15.5% year-to-date, compared with 21% gains in the index.
($1 = 83.4810 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)