Macrotech to invest Rs 800 crore to construct 2 housing projects in Bengaluru: MD & CEO Abhishek Lodha

Macrotech Developers will invest about Rs 800 crore to construct two housing projects in Bengaluru where it has entered to expand business amid strong demand, its MD & CEO Abhishek Lodha said. Macrotech Developers, which markets its properties under Lodha brand, has a significant presence in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune. In June last year, the company had announced its entry in the Bengaluru market by forming a joint venture to develop its first housing project. Later, it added one more housing project in the IT city.

Macrotech Developers this month launched its first residential project in Bengaluru. "We are targeting to launch the second project in the fourth quarter of this fiscal. It may slip to the first quarter of the next financial year," Lodha told PTI. Asked about construction cost of these two projects, he said it is estimated to be Rs 800 crore.

The gross development value or sales value is expected to be around Rs 2,500 crore from these two projects, Lodha said. Macrotech Developers will be selling apartments in the range of Rs 1.5-2.5 crore each. Lodha asserted that the company would continue to focus on MMR and Pune residential markets.

In Bengaluru, he said the company would like to focus on sales and marketing as well as execution of these two projects, before deciding to expand further.
On operational front, Macrotech Developers achieved sale bookings of Rs 6,890 crore during the first six months of this fiscal as against Rs 6,000 crore in the same period of previous year.
With strong launch pipeline, Lodha exuded confidence that the company would easily achieve the Rs 14,500 crore sale bookings target fixed for the current fiscal year as against Rs 12,070 crore in the previous year.

Asked about launches in the first half of 2023-24 and future pipeline, he said the company launched 3.7 million square feet area worth nearly Rs 4,000 crore in the April-September period. "We plan to launch 8 million square feet area in the second half of this fiscal with an estimated sales value of around Rs 12,000 crore," Lodha said. On new business development which means acquiring land outright or partnership with landowners, Lodha said the company has added 7 new land parcels in MMR and Bengaluru during April-September period for development of housing projects with sales potential Rs 14,300 crore.

"For new business development, we gave a guidance of Rs 17,500 crore for this financial year. We have added new projects that have gross development value of Rs 14,300 crore. So, we have already achieved more than 80 per cent of our annual target," he said. Out of seven, six land parcels have been added in MMR and one in Bengaluru. Lodha said the company is in talks with landlords for adding more land parcels in its portfolio mainly across MMR and Pune.

The company will stick to the annual guidance of Rs 17,500 crore but is confident of exceeding the target.
"Our focus as a business is about delivering steady and predictable growth. The first half of this fiscal year shows that we are doing that with consistency. We have achieved 48 per cent of our sales guidance for FY24 and 80 per cent of our business development guidance and our embedded EBIDTA margin remains strong at 30 per cent," Lodha said.

The company's MD and CEO noted that the demand would sustain, with real estate sector being in third year of its long term up-cyle of at least 15 years. Lodha said the interest rates on home loans have peaked and is expected to moderate. "On the ground, demand conditions continue to strengthen on the back of strong affordability and consumer confidence. Persistent consumer desire to own quality home with superior set of amenities from branded developers continues to drive consolidation benefiting branded players like us," Lodha said. Macrotech Developers has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 202.8 crore for the second quarter of this fiscal.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 932.9 crore in the year-ago period. Total income declined marginally to Rs 1,755.1 crore in July-September period of 2023-24 fiscal from Rs 1,761.2 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Macrotech Developers has delivered around 95 million square feet of real estate and is developing more than 110 million square feet under its ongoing and planned portfolio.