Unitech Ltd, the country’s second-largest realty firm, has sold properties worth about Rs 4,000 crore. This includes nearly two-third from the housing segment, at its projects launched since March this year.
In seven months, the company has launched more than 30 projects, with a saleable area of 21.3 million sq ft. Of this, it has already sold 10.11 million sq ft.
“Approximately Rs 4,000 crore in sales has been booked (since March),” Unitech told investors in a presentation.
Housing demands, which was hit during the second half of last fiscal due to global economic recession, has improved since April owing to cut in interest rates on housing loans and builder increased focus on low-cost apartments.
Out of 10.11 million sq ft area sold, housing segment, which is witnessing signs of revival, accounted for about 80 per cent. The company said it sold residential units worth Rs 2,639 crore during this period, while remaining Rs 1,274 crore came from non-residential projects.
Unitech, which is developing more than 60 projects across 10 cities, said it would deliver 32 million sq ft of area (22 million sq ft past and 10 million sq ft new) over the next three years. The company told investors that it was working towards completion and delivery of past projects by March 2011.
“To expedite delivery of projects, we have ramped up the workforce on project sites by more than 300 per cent in the last six months,” it said. The number of workforce employed at various sites has surged to 15,600 as on October 1 from just 3,500 on April 1 and the construction activities has come back to normal, the presentation said. In May, Unitech had announced that it would construct 20,000 affordable houses at a cost of Rs 1,700 crore to become India’s numero-uno realty firm in housing segment in a year.
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Besides low-cost housing, the company would also develop 1,500 dwelling units every year on mid-income category.
Unitech has been raising funds from the beginning of this year to improve the cash flow of the company and cut its huge debt, which surged to nearly Rs 11,000 crore by the end of 2008. Since April, the company has raised nearly Rs 4,500 crore through two rounds of qualified institutional placement.