Business News

Eighteen major listed real estate developers sold properties worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore during the last fiscal with Godrej Properties becoming the largest player posting Rs 22,527 crore of sales bookings. Except for a few realty players, all major developers have achieved higher sales bookings in 2023-24 compared to the preceding financial year. This was largely driven by strong demand for residential properties, especially luxury homes, across major cities. Many developers clocked record pre-sales in the 2023-24 fiscal, riding on a surge in consumer demand. According to the data compiled from regulatory filings, eighteen major listed realty firms have reported combined sales bookings of about Rs 1,16,635 crore in the 2023-24 fiscal, up 33 per cent from nearly Rs 88,000 crore in the preceding year. Of these combined sales bookings of nearly Rs 1.17 lakh crore, bulk of pre-sales came from the residential segment. Industry experts attribute this surge in sales bookings of major listed players to strong housing demand post-COVID pandemic and the shifting of demand towards those companies and brands which have better track records of executing projects. In terms of sales bookings, Godrej Properties has become the largest listed player in the 2023-24 fiscal with pre-sales of Rs 22,527 crore. Prestige Estates Projects, based in Bengaluru, clocked sales bookings of Rs 21,040 crore to become the second-largest listed player in terms of sales bookings. DLF, the country's largest realty firm in terms of market capitalisation, achieved sales bookings of Rs 14,778 crore in the last fiscal year. Selling properties under the 'Lodha' brand, Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers clocked pre-sales of Rs 14,520 crore. Gurugram-based Signature Global, which was listed last year, performed exceedingly well and achieved sales bookings of Rs 7,270 crore last fiscal, more than double from the preceding fiscal. Bengaluru-based firms Sobha Ltd and Brigade Enterprises sold properties worth Rs 6,644 crore and Rs 6,013 crore during the last fiscal. Another Bengaluru-based realty company Puravankara Ltd was not far behind and achieved sales bookings of Rs 5,914 crore. Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty, which is in the luxury segment, sold properties worth Rs 4,007 crore last fiscal. Kolte-Patil, which is based in Pune, sold properties worth Rs 2,822 crore last fiscal. Mumbai's Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd and Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee) clocked sales bookings of Rs 2,328 crore and Rs 2,266 crore, respectively. Sunteck Realty, headquartered in Mumbai, sold properties worth Rs 1,915 crore last fiscal. Ashiana Housing, based in the national capital, achieved sales bookings of Rs 1,798 crore. Ahmedabad-based Arvind Smartspaces Ltd sold properties worth Rs 1,107 crore, while Ajmera Realty & Infrastructure Ltd, with headquarters in Mumbai, reported pre-sales of Rs 1,017 crore. Lucknow-based Eldeco Housing & Industries Ltd sold properties worth Rs 388 crore while Mumbai-based Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd Rs 280 crore. Sales booking data of some listed players, like Omaxe, was not available. Real estate developers, which are not listed on stock exchanges, do not report their quarterly and annual sales bookings. Tata Realty & Infrastructure Ltd, Adani Realty, Piramal Realty, Hiranandani Group, Embassy Group and K Raheja Group are major players in unlisted space. Post-COVID pandemic, the Indian real estate market, especially the housing segment, has bounced back sharply on pent-up demand and a growing desire to have homeownership. The consolidation of consumer demand toward branded and reputed players has also gained momentum as homebuyers do not want to take the risk of getting stuck in real estate projects after making payments. Thousands of buyers are stuck in housing projects of builders like Unitech and Jaypee Infratech Ltd which defaulted in delivering projects. Homebuyers of Amrapali Group are getting possession of their flats after intervention from the Supreme Court.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries expects a high single-digit top line growth in the current fiscal, according to Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi. The Mumbai-based firm reported a consolidated total revenue from operations at Rs 48,497 crore for FY24. The number stood at Rs 43,886 crore in FY23. "We expect high single-digit consolidated top line growth for FY25. All our businesses are positioned for growth," Shanghvi said in an analyst call. He noted that in the current fiscal, the drug firm will be in the investment phase for its several businesses. "This includes, but not limited to, product launch costs in the US as the ramp-up of our global specialty business is expected to continue," Shanghvi said. He noted that R&D investments will be 8-10 per cent of sales during the year. Replying to a separate query, Shanghvi said: "We have to continue to invest for the future. And our effort would be that while we are creating that investment for future, we don't do it at the cost of profitability." He further said: "But even if it does require some increased investment, we would do that because ultimately, our focus is on building a business which is strong long term." As per AIOCD AWACS MAT March 2024 report, Sun Pharma is ranked number one and holds an 8.5 per cent market share in the over Rs 1,970-billion Indian pharmaceutical market. For the fiscal ended March 31, 2024, the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9,576 crore. It stood at Rs 8,474 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal.