Godrej Prop Tops In Sales Bookings For FY21; Overtakes Macrotech

Godrej Properties has become the country's largest listed real estate developer in terms of sales bookings during the last fiscal year as it clocked a record pre-sales of Rs 6,725 crore despite the COVID pandemic.

In terms of market capitalisation, Delhi-NCR based DLF remains the country's largest real estate developer with a market cap of over Rs 70,000 crore.

When it comes to operational performance, Mumbai-based Godrej Properties, which is part of business conglomerate Godrej group, achieved highest sales bookings during the 2020-21 fiscal year, surpassing Macrotech Developers', erstwhile Lodha Developers, numbers.

According to an analyst presentation, Godrej Properties reported 14 per cent rise in sales bookings to record Rs 6,725 crore during the last fiscal as against Rs 5,915 crore in the 2019-20 financial year.

Macrotech Developers, on the other hand, reported a 9 per cent decline in its sales bookings at Rs 5,968 crore in FY21 as against Rs 6,570 crore in the previous financial year.

Mumbai-based Macrotech launched its Rs 2,500 crore IPO in April to get listed on the stock exchanges.

Most of the real estate developers, which are listed on the stock exchanges, report their sales bookings numbers on quarterly and annual basis. Unlisted companies generally do not disclose their numbers.

Among other large listed realty firms, Bengaluru-based Prestige Estates Projects sales bookings rose 20 per cent year-on-year to a record of Rs 5,460.8 crore in the last fiscal year.

Sobha's sales bookings grew by 9 per cent to Rs 3,137.2 crore in FY21 from Rs 2,880.6 crore in the previous year.

DLF recently reported sales bookings of Rs 3,084 crore during the last fiscal, up 24 per cent from the previous year.

In its analyst presentation, Oberoi Realty said 1.7 million square feet of saleable area were sold in FY21 with a gross sale value exceeding Rs 3,425 crore.

Brigade Enterprises' sales bookings rose to Rs 2,767 crore last fiscal from Rs 2,377 crore during the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Indiabulls Real Estate said in its presentation that the total new sales in FY 21 stood at Rs 1,988 crore.

Mahindra Lifespace Developers, which is a real estate arm of the Mahindra group, achieved sales of Rs 695 crore in residential business.

Mumbai-based Sunteck Realty's sales bookings declined to Rs 1,022 crore last fiscal from Rs 1,221 crore in the 2019-20 financial year.

Pune-based Kolte-Patil Developers's sales booking fell to Rs 1,201 crore during the last fiscal from Rs 1,330.9 crore in the previous year.

When asked about Godrej Properties' reporting higher sales bookings of Rs 6,725 crore in FY21, Macrotech Developers MD and CEO Abhishek Lodha had said last month: "I do not want to comment on the competition".

He, however, did highlight that the company in the last eight financial years sold properties worth around Rs 57,000 crore, way ahead of its competitors.

On housing demand consolidating towards trusted builders, Dhruv Agarwala, group CEO, Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com, said, Since project delays are likely to get longer because of a restriction on construction activities, disruption in material supply and labour shortages due to COVID-19, homebuyers are being doubly cautious with regard to the project developer they choose."

In a scenario where real estate developers are facing a liquidity challenge, he said developers with a strong consumer brand, deep pockets and a consistent track record of delivery are becoming a buyer's logical first choice.

"This lowers the risk of delays and other issues from a buyer's point of view," Agarwala said.

The housing market has evolved in the past one year and home buyers are becoming increasingly wary of fancy offers, he observed.

"A solid developer track record has emerged as probably the most important criteria for making a choice. This is one reason why the overall slowdown in the property market has had little impact on sales bookings of listed builders," Agarwala said.

Among unlisted companies, major players across seven big cities include Tata Housing, Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, Embassy group, Hiranandani group, Piramal Realty, Kalpataru group, K Raheja group, Shriram Properties, Salarpuria Sattva, RMZ group, Panchshil Realty, Aparna Construction and Estates, My Home Constructions, M3M India, Gaurs group, ATS group and Signature Global.

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