Keystone Realtors eyes 32% growth in housing sales this year: CMD

Keystone Realtors has set a target of 32 per cent growth in its sale bookings this fiscal to Rs 3,000 crore on strong housing demand and is hopeful of crossing this number, its Chairman and Managing Director Boman Irani said.

Keystone Realtors, which sells its properties under Rustomjee brand, is one of the leading real estate developers in the country with a significant presence in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

In an interview with PTI, Irani -- who is also president of realtors' apex body CREDAI -- noted that the demand in the housing market continues to be strong, encouraging the company to invest more in land acquisition and construction activities.

 

"We have a dry powder of around Rs 3,000 crore to make investments for growth. We raised Rs 800 crore from qualified institutional placement (QIP) plus our internal cash flow," he said.

Asked about the sale bookings outlook, Irani said, "We are targeting to achieve Rs 3,000 crore pre-sales this fiscal. We will cross that number."

Already, the company has achieved pre-sales of Rs 611 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal, up 22 per cent from Rs 502 crore in the year-ago period.

During the entire 2023-24, the company sold properties worth Rs 2,266 crore.

On land acquisition, Irani said the company has given guidance of buying multiple land parcels that can generate Rs 4,000 crore worth of revenue.

"We have added Rs 1,000 crore worth of project in the June quarter. We will cross the target. The pipeline of land deals is very strong," he said.

For the redevelopment of housing societies in Mumbai region, Irani said his company is the most preferred developer.

Earlier this month, Keystone Realtors reported a 45 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 25.82 crore in the June 2024 quarter on higher expenses.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 46.97 crore for the year-ago period.

Total income increased to Rs 437.20 crore during the April-June period of this fiscal from Rs 282.82 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Total expenses, including construction spend, surged to Rs 398.16 crore from Rs 216.54 crore during the period under review.

In the June quarter, the company launched two new projects with an estimated GDV (gross development value) of Rs 2,017 crore as per its guidance of launching two projects per quarter.

The company acquired one more project in the first quarter with an estimated GDV of Rs 984 crore.

The successful fund raise of Rs 800 crore equity via QIP will play a pivotal role in driving the company's growth strategy, facilitating the acquisition of new projects and new launches, Irani said.

Keystone Realtors has 34 completed projects, 15 ongoing projects and 27 forthcoming projects. So far, the company has delivered 25-plus million square feet of construction area, with a pipeline of 43-plus million square feet of construction area in the works.