DLF aims 10% growth in sales bookings to about Rs 8,000 cr in FY23

Realty major DLF Ltd is targeting a 10 per cent growth in its sales bookings to about Rs 8,000 crore this fiscal on better demand for its housing properties.

DLF's sales bookings rose to Rs 7,273 crore in 2021-22 fiscal from Rs 3,084 crore in the previous year.

In the first quarter of this fiscal, DLF's sales bookings doubled to Rs 2,040 crore from Rs 1,014 crore in the year-ago period.

DLF Group Executive Director Aakash Ohri told investors on Saturday in an analyst call that the company's sales bookings grew sharply in the June quarter and it expects momentum to continue.

Asked whether the company will revise its sales bookings guidance upwards from Rs 8,000 crore seeing strong Q1 which is not typically strongest, Ohri said: "We won't revise anything for now. We will continue to stick to that."

There are some headwinds like interest rates hike and therefore the company would not get carried away and keep the sales guidance as it is, he added.

On impact of hike in interest rate, DLF CEO Ashok Kumar Tyagi said there could be some short term impact of hike in interest on home loans.

"It would be naive to say that it will have no short-term impact but what we all hope is that the impact will be transitory and it will not have any lasting impact," he said.

Asked about the company's plan to launch REIT for its rent-yielding commercial assets, Tyagi said the company can get REIT into the market in 6-8 months but it's for shareholders to decide on timing to launch the REIT.

DLF holds bulks of rental assets in DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which is a joint venture between the company and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC.

On Friday, DLF reported a 39 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 469.57 crore in the quarter ended June on better sales. Its net profit stood at Rs 337.10 crore in the year-ago period.

Total income rose to Rs 1,516.28 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 1242.27 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a regulatory filing.

In a statement, DLF said, "Residential demand continues to exhibit sustained momentum. The high demand for luxury homes has been a key trend that is expected to continue."

While rising interest rates may pose some challenges, we expect this structural recovery in the residential segment to continue, it said.

The company would continue to bring newer offerings across multiple segments and geographies. It would also remain committed towards surplus cash generation from operations.

DLF is the largest real estate company in terms of market capitalisation. It has so far developed more than 153 real estate projects comprising over 330 million square feet of area.

The group has 215 million square feet of development potential across residential and commercial segment. The group has a rent-yielding commercial portfolio of over 40 million square feet.