DLF eyes Rs 7000cr from sale of assets

Source :The telegraph:Thursday , May 26 , 2011 Real estate firm DLF plans to raise Rs 7,000 crore in the next two to three years from the sale of non-core assets to reduce its net debt of Rs 21,424 crore. In a presentation, DLF said it had raised the divestment target for non-core assets, including land parcels, to Rs 10,000 crore from Rs 4,500 crore earlier. The company has raised Rs 3,070 crore so far from the divestment of non-core assets such as hotel plots. Of the Rs 3,070 crore, Rs 1,270 crore was garnered last fiscal. “Non-core asset divestments will gain momentum with Rs 6,000-7,000 crore worth of divestments expected in the next 2-3 years,” the company said, adding that it has raised this target as it expects higher realisations from the sale of some businesses in the current financial year. DLF said it aimed to become a net debt-free entity in the next three to four years through internal accruals and the sale of non-core assets. However, the net debt of the company increased Rs 552 crore during the fourth quarter of 2010-11 and stood at Rs 21,424 crore because of strategic investments in land aggregation and a capital expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore last fiscal. Besides the sale of non-core assets, the company expects to generate “faster cash flows” from operations. Demand for new homes and offices in India declined in 2008 and early 2009 because of the global credit crunch. The financial performances of property developers, including DLF, also suffered. The slowdown forced major real estate companies to either completely or partly sell non-core assets to infuse cash into their core businesses. DLF has been trying to sell a number of its business units, such as hotels and resorts. It has sold its stake in an insurance venture with US-based Prudential Financial.

Patel Realty to launch pan-India project worth Rs 300 cr

Source :Patel Engineering: May 28,2011

Patel Realty India Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mumbai-based publicly-held Patel Engineering Group, plans to launch 3-3.5 million sq ft of projects valued around Rs.300 crore during the present financial year across the country.

Presently, around 7 million sq ft of real estate space is under construction across verticals like residential, commercial and retail space by the company.

“The total project cost for these upcoming project is around Rs.300 crore this fiscal, which will be funded from internal accruals and cash flow from clients,” according to the company insiders.

Patel Realty has around 1,100 acres of land in various parts of the country, which has been transferred to the company from parent group.

“As we don’t have to invest in land parcels, which is around 70 per cent of the total project cost, our investments are less in comparison to other real estate companies,” he added.

He, however, said that it was difficult to give a sales figure as the company was working in all verticals of real estate market.

Patel Realty, which has a total sales income of around Rs.700 crore in last two financial years, is also planning to launch an integrated township project in Mauritius. The company will commit around $500 million in this project in a phased manner.

The real estate company also aims to launch more projects in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai in the near future.