India's Raymond posts sharp rise in profit on higher demand for premium realty

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(Reuters) - India's Raymond Ltd reported a 49% rise in its second-quarter profit on Monday, driven by higher demand for its premium properties.

The company, which sells luxury homes and auto parts, said its consolidated profit from continuing operations before exceptional items rose to 889.8 million rupees ($10.6 million) for the July-September quarter from 598.9 million rupees a year earlier.

It reported an exceptional charge of 230.1 million rupees in the year-ago quarter.

India's housing sector is seeing consistent demand for home ownership, especially high-margin premium properties.

Additionally, the government's emphasis on infrastructure development and attractive interest rates have bolstered buyer confidence, particularly for luxury- and mid-range segments.

Raymond's mainstay real estate segment, which accounts for 55% of overall revenue, reported a more than two-fold surge in revenue during the quarter.

This lifted its total revenue by two-fold to 10.45 billion rupees.

Separately, Raymond Lifestyle, the company's apparel business, carved out of Raymond Ltd, made its market debut in September.

Raymond's shares closed nearly 2% higher ahead of its results.

($1 = 84.0890 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)