DLF net profit almost halves

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - DLF Ltd , India's top real estate developer, reported quarterly net profit almost halved, hurt by a one-off loss, although the profit was slightly ahead of analysts' estimates.

Consolidated net profit fell 49 percent to 1.45 billion rupees from 2.85 billion rupees a year earlier, New Delhi-based DLF, founded by billionaire K.P. Singh, said in a statement on Friday.

The latest quarter results included an exceptional charge of 4.11 billion rupees over a "foreseeable loss" as it settled a dispute with a government agency over a project.

Five analysts on average had expected DLF to report a net profit of 1.2 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

 

Income from operations rose to 20.58 billion rupees for the three months to December, from 13.10 billion rupees a year earlier.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)