New Delhi: Realty firm Macrotech Developers has reduced its net debt by 12 per cent in the December quarter to Rs 4,320 crore on better internal cash flows, as the company achieved strong pre-sales, its MD Abhishek Lodha said. Net debt of Macrotech Developers, which markets its properties under the Lodha brand, stood at Rs 4,930 crore at the end of the September quarter of this fiscal.
In an interview with PTI, Lodha highlighted that the company's performance during the latest December quarter has been ‘robust’ and hoped to end the fiscal year on a strong note.
"It was our strongest-ever quarter (October-December 2024) in terms of pre-sales. It was a best-ever quarter in terms of collections (of funds from customers). We had a strong underlying profitability. Our embedded EBITDA was about 35 per cent well above our guidance at the start of the year of averaging about 30 per cent. That number is 34 per cent YTD (year-to-date)," Lodha said.
He further said that the company has added many land parcels across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Bengaluru during the first nine months of this fiscal year. These land parcels have an estimated revenue potential of more than Rs 19,000 crore. In new business development, Lodha said the company has almost achieved 90 per cent of its full-year target of Rs 21,000 crore.
"And in spite of significant business development, because of the strong operating performance, our net debt went down by about Rs 600 crore. We now have about Rs 4,300 crores of net debt with a debt equity ratio of 0.22," Lodha said.
Overall, he said the company had a "robust performance" in the third quarter of 2024-25 fiscal across all important metrics like pre-sales, profitability, as well as business development. Macrotech Developers has achieved a record pre-sales (sales bookings) of Rs 4,510 crore, up 32 per cent annually. With this, the company has achieved pre-sales of Rs 12,820 crore till December in the current fiscal, showing a 25 per cent year-on-year growth.
Lodha expressed confidence that the company will easily achieve the annual pre-sales target of Rs 17,500 crore this fiscal. On the litigation with younger brother's firm House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), he asserted that there is a "pure corporate dispute" between Macrotech Developers and House of Abhinandan Lodha over the use of the trademark and it has ‘nothing to do with brothers.’
Macrotech Developers has recently filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court against HoABL for infringement of its trademarks and sought appropriate injunctions, reliefs, and damages. Abhishek Lodha said he has no problem with younger brother Abhinandan Lodha doing real estate business, but asserted that Macrotech has every right to protect its trademarks -- 'Lodha' and 'Lodha Group'.
Macrotech Developers is listed on stock exchanges and is one of the leading real estate firms in the country, while HoABL is into plotted developments across various cities including Ayodhya. Abhishek said, "He is my brother. I have a lot of affection for him and I have done whatever I could to support him, and I wish him the very best. This is a litigation on a very simple point of trademark."
He emphasized that consumers have a right to know which company they are dealing with. The 'Lodha' brand has been built with a lot of effort in the last four decades, he said, adding that "as a company we can not allow our brand to get diluted".
Noting that Macrotech has some of the top investors in the world as its shareholders, Abhishek said the company was forced to file suit to protect the interest of its consumers and shareholders. "I have no problem with him (Abhinandan) doing real estate. I want him to be successful in every possible way, but not by confusing the consumer that they are dealing with a Lodha group, which everybody sees as India's top developer," asserted Abhishek.
He, however, stressed that "It's nothing to do with brothers. It's a pure corporate dispute."
Abhinandan Lodha had quit Macrotech Developers (erstwhile Lodha Developers) in 2015 and later started his own business.
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On Saturday, Macrotech Developers reported an 88 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 944.4 crore for the quarter ended December on higher income amid strong housing demand. Net profit stood at Rs 503.3 crore in the year-ago period. Total income rose to Rs 4,146.6 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal, from Rs 2,958.7 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
During the April-December period of 2024-25 fiscal, the company's net profit more than doubled to Rs 1,842.6 crore, from Rs 883.6 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Total income rose to Rs 9,749.5 crore in the first nine months of this fiscal, from Rs 6,385.6 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
On the operational front, Macrotech has achieved Rs 12,820 crore of pre-sales till December in this fiscal showcasing a 25 per cent growth. The company is confident of achieving the sales bookings target of Rs 17,500 crore for this fiscal.
Macrotech Developers has delivered around 100 million square feet of real estate and is currently developing more than 110 million square feet under its on-going and planned portfolio.
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