Realty major DLF today said its net debt had risen by nearly Rs 1,000 crore in the quarter ended September to Rs 22,519 crore mainly due to delay in receipt of payments from non-core asset sales.
In a conference call to analysts, a senior official of the company said that DLF was targeting to bring the borrowings down to about Rs 19,000 crore by March-end.
DLF expects to raise about Rs 3,000 crore by March 2012 through sale of non-core assets such as IT Park in Noida, IT SEZ at Pune and hospitality business Amanresorts, and the proceeds would be utilised in reducing debt.
The net debt of the country's largest realty firm was Rs 21,524 crore as on June 30, 2011.
"Increase in net debt is largely due to deferment of divestment proceeds expected to be received in Q2 to Q3, that is Noida IT park and Pune IT SEZ," DLF said in a presentation.
That apart, the company has attributed the increase in debt to the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuation and mandatory payments such as taxes that normally falls due in the second quarter.
DLF availed fresh loans of Rs 1,438 crore in the second quarter and the impact due to forex fluctuation stood at Rs 142 crore, the presentation pointed out.
"We are fully committed to bringing down the debt level to Rs 19,000-19,500 crore by end of this fiscal," DLF Executive Director (Finance) Saurav Chawla told investors.
Giving details about the sale of non-core assets, he said that definitive agreement has been signed for the sale of Noida IT Park and documentation are at an advanced stage for the sale of the Pune IT SEZ.
On Amanresorts, Chawla said: "We have received four bids from the potential buyers and same are being evaluated. We are expecting to close the transaction by this quarter".
DLF has been selling its non-core assets in the last few years to reduce debt.
Till last fiscal, the company had raised Rs 3,070 crore from sale of non-core assets. In the first half of this fiscal, it raised Rs 410 crore, taking the total proceeds from sale of such assets to 3,480 crore.
Earlier this year, DLF had announced plans to raise Rs 7,000 crore in the next 2-3 years to reduce its mounting debt.
DLF yesterday reported 11% fall in net profit to Rs 372.41 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly due to higher tax expenses and interest charges. Consolidated net sales during the second quarter, however, rose by 6.9% to Rs 2,532.41 crore.
Shares of the company closed down 2.31% at Rs 228.35 on the BSE today.
