Macrotech to invest Rs 3,800 cr in FY23 on construction of realty projects: MD Abhishek Lodha

Realty firm Macrotech Developers will invest Rs 3,800 crore this fiscal year on construction of its various ongoing and new projects as it has set a target to deliver 10,000 homes by next March, a top company official said.

The company, which got listed last year by raising Rs 2,500 crore through its Initial Public Offer (IPO), markets its product under the Lodha brand.

In an interview with PTI, Macrotech Developers MD and CEO Abhishek Lodha said: "We spent about Rs 2,600 crore on construction last fiscal year. Our construction spend is estimated at Rs 3,800 crore during the current fiscal."

He attributed the increase in expenditure on construction to a significant rise in number of projects being executed and a strong pipeline of new launches.

Moreover, Lodha said the construction work got affected during June quarter last fiscal year because of the second wave of the COVID pandemic.

Asked about deliveries of projects, he said the company delivered 6,000 housing units last fiscal year and the target is 10,000 units for 2022-23.

Bullish on housing demand, Macrotech Developers has set an aggressive target to grow its sales bookings by 27 per cent during the current fiscal year at Rs 11,500 crore as against Rs 9,024 crore in the previous year.

Out of the total target of Rs 11,500 crore, the company expects sales bookings of Rs 10,500 crore from residential segment and the rest from sales of commercial assets.

Lodha said the company would continue to focus on Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune.

Macrotech is exploring opportunities in Bengaluru market and a final decision will be taken in the next few months.

Macrotech Developers will continue its focus to expand portfolio on capital-light manner by partnering with land owners and making investments on construction only.

The company signed 11 JDAs (joint development agreements) for nearly Rs 15,000 crore GDV (gross development value) during FY22.

On the property market, Lodha said the real estate market is getting consolidated and the share of bigger developers will keep increasing.

He expected a robust growth in housing and other segments in the real estate sector.

Lodha said the demand is expected to remain strong, driven by low interest rates on home loans, rising concept of home ownership and improved affordability.

The growth journey of the Indian housing market on the back of rising incomes and favourable demography has just begun, he noted.

Lodha mentioned that the industry after several years has entered into a positive price-demand cycle, enabling conversion of latent demand into actual sales in a shorter time frame.

Macrotech Developers has reported a multi-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,202.37 crore for the last fiscal year on higher revenue and pre-sales.

Its net profit stood at Rs 40.16 crore in 2020-21.

Total income rose to Rs 9,579.17 crore in 2021-22 from Rs 5,771.65 crore in the previous fiscal year. Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers is one of the leading real estate developers in the country.