What is the better long-term real estate stock to choose between Godrej Properties and DLF?

With the real estate index plunging 125% over the last year, the market has experienced a notable upswing. It is possible to attribute this surge to high pre-sales numbers. In this context, let us compare the stocks of Godrej Properties and DLF to see which offers better long-term investment prospects. 

The real estate market has experienced a notable upswing in the last year, as evidenced by the realty index’s explosion of over 125 percent. Excellent pre-sales numbers from real estate companies are responsible for this increase. Real estate companies’ stock prices have stayed high, partly because they announced upcoming projects, encouraging pre-sales numbers and market expansion. 

In this context, let us compare the real estate stocks of Godrej Properties (GPL) and DLF to see which offers better long-term investment prospects. 

Trend of Stock Prices

To date this year, DLF and Godrej Properties have outperformed the benchmark. GPL has increased by 24% in 2024 YTD, compared to DLF’s nearly 29% increase. In contrast, Nifty has grown by 3%, while the Nifty Realty index has increased by more than 18%. 

Thus far in 2024, both stocks have produced positive returns in both months. DLF increased by 13 percent in February, bringing its winning streak to six months. In January, it increased by 9.7%. GPL saw gains for the fifth month in a row, adding 1.2 percent in February. It increased by about 18% in January. 

Meanwhile, DLF and GPL have produced multi-bagger returns over the past year. While GPL has increased by 114 percent, DLF has grown by over 159 percent. Conversely, Nifty Realty has experienced a growth of more than 125%, whereas Nifty has grown by more than 27%. In intraday transactions today, March 4, DLF and Godrej Properties reached their 52-week highs. On March 14, 2023, DLF reached its one-year high of Rs 932, surging 177 percent from its 52-week low of Rs 336.50. GPL also reached its 52-week high of Rs 2,524, rising 151 percent from its March 29, 2023, 52-week low of Rs 1,005. 

Meanwhile, DLF has come out on top over the next three years. While GPL is up just  67 percent, the stock has returned 194%. 

Earnings 

Due to increased revenue and decreased expenses, DLF reported a 27% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 655.71 crore for the December quarter. Its net profit for the previous year was Rs 517.94 crore. In the October – December quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year, total consolidated income increased to Rs 1,643.51 core from Rs 1,59 crore during the same period the previous year. Thanks to several launches throughout the quarter, DLF, the big real estate player by market capitalization, recorded its highest quarterly sales booking of Rs 9,047 crore. In addition to generating Rs 1,108 crore in operating cash, the company reported strong liquidity. 

In contrast, Godrej Properties’ net profit in Q3FY24 increased 6% YoY to Rs 62.47 crore. Revenues for the company were Rs 330.44 crore, up 68.39 percent. In the December quarter of FY24, the company achieved its highest-ever pre-sales, totaling Rs 5,700 crore, a 76 percent increase over the prior year. Eight project launches between October and December helped the pre-sales and accounted for about 69% of the bookings. According to the company, bookings for the nine months that end on December 31, 2023, totaled Rs 13,000 crore, or 93% of the company’s goal for FY 24. 

Which real estate stock offers the best chances for long-term financial gains?

Director and senior technical analyst Shhersham Gupta of Rupeezy favors DLF over Godrej Properties. 

Godrej Properties and DLF have cooperated on several projects for the past year, resulting in excellent outcomes. But of the two, the DLF is the most promising due to its ambitious project launch pipeline. DLF plans to significantly increase its operating flows and profitability, with planned launches having a gross development value (GDV) of Rs 32,000 crore, representing considerably more than previous years’ figures. 

Conversely, SAMCO Securities research analyst Moorjani believes Godrej Properties is more suitable. 

Both DLF and Godrej Properties are currently selling at ridiculous prices. Therefore, even though current owners may decide to hang onto their shares, new investors should steer clear of these stocks. Godrej Properties recently reported its highest-ever quarterly sales bookings for the second consecutive quarter. When it acquired a 12.5-acre plot of land in Hyderabad with a massive 3,500 crore revenue potential, it also caused a stir. Furthermore, contrary to many others in the industry, Godrej Properties has reported growth in its profits and revenue. Godrej Properties is an excellent option for investors considering its financial performance and potential for growth.  

In the interim, international brokerage firm Jefferies has called for a “buy” position in both real estate stocks. Godrej Properties’ target price has increased to Rs 2,700 (from Rs 2,635), signifying a gain of more than 7%. Conversely, the brokerage has already surpassed its target of Rs 875 for DLF. With two consecutive record-breaking pre-sales quarters and a robust launch pipeline for the fourth quarter, Godrej Properties expects to see at least 50% more sales growth this year. Due to the lack of noteworthy project deliveries during the quarter, its revenue of Rs 330.44 crore was below expectations. Worli (MMR), Ashok Vihar (NCR), and Sarjapur (Bengaluru) are just a few of the projects that GPL has said are probably going to be delayed. According to Jefferies on GPL, the launch pipeline for 4QFY24 is still strong, excluding these projects. A 15-year high quarterly profit, an all-time high in pre-sales, and more than Rs 1000 crore in free cash flow generation were made public for DLF in Q3. Additionally, according to the brokerage, DLF’s updated project pipeline indicates that launches for FY24 have taken place, but the pipeline for FY25 and FY26 has been steadily growing. It also added that the lease performance remained stable, with an 8% YoY rental growth.   

Yet, CLSA has a “sell” call on both equities. 

Ultimately, buyers and sellers of real estate need to consider these divergent viewpoints and carry out their due diligence. 

Note: These are the opinions of individual analysts or brokerage firms; Propertywala does not endorse any of the ideas or opinions expressed above. Before making any investment decisions, we advise investors to consult with qualified specialists. 

Story Behind Jaypee’s Failure

Shri. Jaiprakash Gaur, the founder of Jaypee Group, had a single-minded focus after graduating from IIT Roorkee with a diploma in civil engineering. He decided to contribute to nation-building by branching off as a civil contractor in 1958 and founded Jaypee Group. The Group’s business interests include engineering and construction, cement, power, real estate, expressways, fertilizer, hospitality, healthcare, sports, and information technology. This article covers the story behind Jaypee’s failure. How did Jaypee start, what all the good things it did, what exactly went wrong, and what is the future now? One thing is for sure, if everything would have gone well, Jaypee would have completely changed the situation in Noida. It could have become the DLF of Noida. But could not. More than 20000 buyers are still struggling to get the homes of their dreams. Let us look at the story behind the making of Jaypee.

Work done by Jaypee:

Jaypee Infratech was founded in 2007 and it is the part of the Jaypee Group. So, let’s look at some of the successful works done by Jaypee Infratech.

1. Yamuna Expressway project:

The Group entered into the construction of expressways with a 165 km access controlled 6 lane super expressway along the Yamuna River connecting Greater Noida and Agra. You would know how well-developed the Yamuna expressway is if you have been to it. It has become a big boon for Noida. Jaypee has also built the Zirakpur-Parwanoo Himalayan Expressway. 

2. Jaypee’s Hotels and Resorts:

In New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, the hospitality division of the Group owns and manages five hotels. 

3. Jaypee’s Hospital:

The Jaypee Hospital is well-developed and offers excellent health facilities. The hospital is now commissioning 525 beds in the first phase of its intended 1200-bedded tertiary care multi-specialty complex.

4. Jaypee’s F1 Sports:

The Group hosted the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of India on October 30, 2011. The track is anticipated to hold more top-tier international racing competitions in addition to F1. Though this was unsuccessful as F1 races did not succeed in India. 

5. Jaypee’s Real Estate:

The first real estate project of the group, Jaypee Greens Greater Noida, covers 452 acres. This distinguished municipality includes an 18-hole Greg Norman golf course, upscale homes, shopping centers, etc. 

India’s First Wish Town, a premier township featuring an 18 + 9 Hole golf course, world-class residences, commercial developments, numerous entertainment amenities, and acres of greenery, was Jaypee Greens’ second project when it was unveiled in Noida in November 2007. The group then started construction on Jaypee Greens Sports City and Jaypee Greens Wish Town Agra, two townships along the Yamuna Expressway and Jewar International Airport, which is scheduled to open soon, and is a 20-minute drive from the city center. 

But destiny was against Jaypee’s prosperity, and Jaypee’s fantasy township became a failure. So let’s talk about this township’s swindling and how many house buyers lost their dream homes.

Jaypee’s Failure in Real Estate:

Who doesn’t want to be the owner of their own home? All of us do. Not just any house, either. A perfect home must be spacious, well-connected to the rest of the city, have a room with a view, and have the best amenities. However, it has been more than 12 years since thousands of Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) home buyers in Noida were victims of the mother of all real estate failures in India. The long-drawn legal battles are ongoing, leaving more than 20,000 Jaypee home seekers running from pillar to post and many giving up.

Jaypee got the land of the wish town in return for building the Noida expressway for Rs 400 crores. The company launched 32000 flats, still, 70% of apartments are in the under-construction stage. This project did not show any signs of readiness for the completion date. Around 90% of buyers made their payment, but it was still claimed that progress has been made on this project, although there was nothing to show for it.

A total of 18,767 people paid a total of Rs.8,676 crores to the company. 1410 people received possession worth 528 crores with no registrations. 413 people canceled their booking and their refund of Rs 64 crores is still pending.

Reasons for the failure:

 The reason behind the Real estate failure of Jaypee are:

  1. Jaypee group took the money that buyers had paid for homes and invested it in other projects.
  2. The company invested the money in other businesses.
  3. The government changed at that time.

 Future of Jaypee’s Failure:

After a super-lengthy resolution process, Mumbai-based Suraksha realty group got the approval of financial creditors and home buyers to take over the company in June 2021. Furthermore, in its offer, Suraksha promised to deliver all Jaiprakash Associates’ pending housing units within 42 months. It has offered to pay Rs 125 crore upfront and infuse Rs 3,000 crore within 90 days for completing the stalled projects. It will also put Rs 300 crore receivable from Jaiprakash Associates for completing the pending housing unit. Since Jaypee was an extraordinary case, the finalization of the bids is pending before NCLT for more than 17 months for approval. After the approval, the 20,000 home buyers who have been waiting for their units in various housing projects of Jaypee can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

DLF Sells Shares to Meet SEBI’s Guidelines

The largest real estate developer DLF will raise Rs.2000 Cr through selling its shares. The realty major plans to sell out over 81 million shares.

The largest real estate developer DLF will sell around 81 million shares to raise a fund worth Rs.2000 Cr. The shares will be sold under the institutional placement program. Continue reading

DLF to raise Rs.2100 Cr via institutional placement program

India’s largest real estate firm DLF plans to raise Rs.2,100 Cr through institutional placement program (IPP)- a system in the market in which the stakes are sold to qualified institutional buyers.

DLF to raise Rs.2100 Cr through IPP.

DLF to raise Rs.2100 Cr through IPP.

DLF, India’s largest real estate firm, by April 2013, will raise over Rs.2100 Cr via selling its shares to qualified institutional buyers. The real estate major will sell around 8.1 Cr shares of the firm to raise the fund.

Though the move is in line with the guidelines specifying 25% public shareholding, the main aim of the move is to help the firm reduce the debt.  However the Rs.2100 Cr fund is one of the biggest ever- raised through IPP, in India.

An official said that they have already started discussions with the bankers. He added that the firm is likely to appoint around three or four merchant bankers soon for the purpose. Though the pricing is not yet done, the official said that the shares will be priced either at the current market price or there may be a 5% discount in the existing prices. However the prices will be as per the prescribed guidelines of IPP, he added. Continue reading

Real Estate Developer- Buyer New Agreement Framed By CCI

Competition Commission of India (CCI) frames a new buyer real estate developer agreement which the fair trade regulator hopes to become a standard agreement. The revised agreement is expected to meet almost all the issues related to real estate sales.

CCI initiates new agreement for real estate sales

CCI hopes to tackle the future problems between the real estate developers and the buyers through their new agreement for real estate sales.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) prepares a model framework for commercial agreements between the property purchaser and the real estate builder. The fair trade regulator CCI hopes this framework to serve as a standard for the real estate industry.

CCI prepares the model framework in relation with violation of market dominance case against DLF. The real estate major was fined Rs.630 Cr penalty by CCI. The real estate major had appealed to the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) against this fine. Continue reading

Real Estate Shares Touch The Bottom

Current reports show that real estate shares are under heavy pressure of selling. Last Tuesday BSE real estate index was closed at 1,822.14 falling down by 3 %.

Real estate shares fall deeper

Real estate shares fall deeper due to higher interest rates and sluggish real estate market.

Real estate shares are under heavy pressure to sell off mainly because of profit-booking. Real estate investors’ sentiment was all the more hurt by the 7.8 % inflation of September. This was the highest in all the ten months of the year.

The 3% of fall of real estate shares was the highest among all the sectors. The shares of all real estate majors also affected heavily. DLF shares were sold at Rs.208 with a decline of 4.3%. Another real estate major Unitech fell to Rs.25.65 after facing a decline of 4.8 %.

The biggest real estate loser was Anant Raj Industries which dropped by 6.8%. HDIL had the second worst position as it had a drop by 5.7%. Continue reading

Delhi Real Estate Refocused: DLF Sells Aman Hotel Shares

India’s largest real estate company DLF has plans to develop some properties in Delhi real estate. With this aim the real estate major has sold its stakes in Aman Hotel.

Delhi Real Estate for what DLF Sellsits shares in Aman Hotel.

DLF Sells Aman Hotel Shares with the plan to refocus on properties in Delhi Real Estate. (pic. of DLF Bella Greens Bangalore): Delhi Real Estate can expect more like this.

By selling its stakes in the Aman Luxury hotel, Real estate major aims to cover up its debt. Furthermore it has plans to develop some projects in Delhi real estate. Within a period of next three to four months’ time Delhi real estate will be able to witness some new DLF projects. Continue reading

Real Estate Firms Fined for Anti-Competitive Practices

Real estate firms are facing the CCI- probe. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has started their probe against five real estate firms which are alleged of anti-competitive practices.

anti- competitive practices burn the real estate builders

Anti- competitive practices burn the real estate builders as they get fined.

Five real estate firms are alleged of conducting anti-competitive practices. The real estate players like DLF, JP Associates, Omaxe, Tulip Infratech and Larsen & Toubro are alleged of anti-competitive practices.

Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot informed the RS- Rajya Sabha that the CCI has started its probe against the alleged real estate builders. He disclosed the names of the real estate players who are alleged. Continue reading

Real Estate India to Have Rs.8000 Cr Worth New Projects

Real estate sector signaled the bouncing back. Real estate sector has been undergoing a sluggish momentum which the sector has overcome now.

Real estate majors like Supertech and Ansal API have announced their new real estate launches worth Rs.8,000 Cr. The realty majors plan to invest the amount for a period of 4 years.

Meanwhile some real estate builders are looking for options to cut the debts off by divesting their properties. Yet this is not the case for the coming years. Real estate experts opine that the coming years will be booming years for real estate sector. Continue reading

Robert Vadra Given Clean Chit on Real Estate Scam by PMO

Robert Vadra is given a clean chit by the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday. Robert Vadra – son-in-law of UPA chief Sonia Gandhi- came out of real estate land scam clean as the PMO- affidavit declared him guiltless.

Robert Vadra was alleged to have involvement in real estate land scam along with real estate developer firm DLF. On Wednesday PMO informed the Allahabad High Court that the allegation against Mr. Vadra seemed false and unreliable. The prime minister’s office told that the allegation was mainly based on rumor. Continue reading

Indian Government Certifies Vadra’s Real Estate Deals Clean

India Government Labels Vadra as "Corruption Free."

India Government Labels Vadra as “Corruption Free.”

Government of India ruled out all sorts of enquiries into the allegations against and leading real estate developer firm DLF Ltd. Robert Vadra, son in law of Sonia Gandhi, Congress president and the most powerful politician of India. Continue reading

Lodha may buy DLF’s Mumbai land-sources

India’s Lodha Group is in advanced talks to buy a plot of land in Mumbai from DLF, the country’s largest listed real estate developer, for about $500 million, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.

Sale of the 17-acre plot is seen as part of DLF’s plan to sell some of its assets to pare its debt of about $4 billion. DLF bought the land for about 7 billion rupees ($129 million) in 2005.

Mumbai-based developer Lodha has emerged as the front-runner for the land parcel in central Mumbai said the sources, declining to be named as the matter is not public yet.

DLF declined to comment, while a spokesman for Lodha said the company was not in talks with DLF.

CREDAI and Builders’ Rift over Code of Conduct

Firstly, several developers declined to abide by the code of conduct laid down by CREDAI. Following this, the association has expelled several developers, while some have resigned discontinuing their involvement with the organisation.

Opposing the self-regulation code, the builders refused to sign the association’s code of conduct. The bone of contention for builders was the code of conduct that primarily outlines transparency clauses that builders have to follow.

Ultimately, CREDAI expelled some builders, as they did not comply with the directives despite the body having issued several notices to them. DLF, Hirco and Hiranandani Realtors have been expelled from the Chennai Unit, whereas four builders have resigned from the Bangalore unit.

CREDAI has further decided to expel non-compliant builders in NCR and informed the expelled builders that they can be a part of CREDAI unit only if they sign the code of conduct.

 

DLF gains profit much after Goldman Sachs upgrade

Reuters Market Eye – India’s biggest real estate developer DLF (DLF.NS) rose 3.2 percent to 188.10 rupees after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stock to “buy” from “neutral” and raised its 12-month target price to 264 rupees from 252 rupees.

Goldman cited a pickup in residential launches, a recovery in commercial property, easing interest rates, and improved outlooks for asset sales as well as for operating/financial leverage as reasons for upgrade.

DLF’s share price is down 0.5 percent for 2012 while the BSE Sensex is up about 11 percent in the same period.

The upgrade has come close on the heels of DLF’s removal from the Sensex, which will come into effect from June 11.

DLF and Unitech stocks up for mortgage cut.

Real estate developers rallied after newspaper Times of India reported on Tuesday some banks were cutting home loan rates for new borrowers, sparking hope of increased property sales in the country.

DLF and Unitech rose about 1% each on the report, which said that lenders Canara Bank and IDBI Bankhad slashed these rates to attract new borrowers.

The reported moves sparked hopes other rival banks would be forced to match the cuts in the loan rates.

‘Integrated Township of the Year Award’ received by the DLF Garden City Lucknow.

Garden city is DLF’s first residential project, in the city of Nawabs – Lucknow. With almost 40 per cent of the area as open spaces and plot sizes starting from 250 sq. yards and above, the township conforms to very high standards of low density population norms. The facilities at Garden city match the international living standards and give the people of Lucknow their first real taste of an exquisite lifestyle. It boasts of meticulous town planning, eco-friendly infrastructure, wide open roads, its own smart sewage disposal plant, underground cabling and massive green belts running across the township.

Garden city has bagged the “Integrated Township of the Year – North India” award at the Realty plus Excellence Awards 2012, instituted by real estate monthly magazine Realty Plus. Cheered by a galaxy of realty stars, luminaries and other stakeholders present from all over the country at a glittering award ceremony held in national capital at The Metropolitan Hotel, Bangla Sahib road, Garden city, Lucknow was chosen for setting new benchmarks for excellence in the Indian Real Estate industry in 2012′, their immaculate town planning and their outstanding contributions and efforts towards bringing about massive and positive changes in the real estate skyline of this region.

This is the fourth award in the last two years conferred upon DLF India:

* Marketer of the Year For Hyde Park Estate at DLF New Chandigarh – Estate World Awards in Association with KPMG & Bloomberg-2011

* Developer of the year – North India – Estate World Awards in association with KPMG & Bloomberg-2011

* Integrated Township of the Year For DLF Valley, Panchkula – Realty Plus Excellence Awards-2010,

Receiving the award, Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi, director sales and marketing at DLF India Ltd said, “It is extremely encouraging to enter new markets and recreate the success and magic of the past. As a group we are extremely excited and committed to our developments in Lucknow, New Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, etc. For each market, we are trying our best to think globally and act locally.”

CCI again caught DLF for imposing unfair conditions on flat owners.

CCI has again accused DLF of imposing unfair conditions on home buyers on its high-end residential project Magnolia in Gurgaon. For this, Magnolia Flat Owners’ Association had filed a complaint against DLF Universal, Haryana Urban Development Authority and the Director Town and Country Planning, Haryana, with the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

In the report, the CCI director general found that DLF has issued allotment letters, and apartment buyers’ agreements were signed even before it got approvals from the town planner. Also, the builder has revised the building plans and applied for increasing the height of the towers after collecting 90% of the money from the buyers, and two months after the original date of delivery promised by the company.

CCI had also found DLF guilty of abusing its position at the Park Place Project in Gurgaon, where they asked the company to cease and desist from imposing unfair conditions on buyers. The order had also directed DLF to suitably modify the unfair conditions imposed on existing buyers within three months.

Drish Paul, the president of the Magnolia Flat Owners’ Association, said that “Many people are living on rent, waiting for apartments to be handed over. We would eventually like to get compensated for the loss due to the delay in completion of the project.”

In a similar order in August 2011,CCI had slapped a fine of 630 crore on DLF for unfair practices, abuse of market dominance and disregard for consumer rights in its Belaire residential project in Gurgaon.

DLF’s tribute to Government Staff Services to the Nation

In a recent press release, a special scheme for government and defence staff has been announced by DLF for purchasing residential units in its projects.

Recently, Mr Mohit Gujral, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, DLF India Ltd, said, “This special rebate for the people in the service of the nation is DLF’s tribute to their services. The scheme aims at encouraging end-users to be a part of these on going developments.”

The scheme is applicable on the projects mentioned as: DLF valley, Panchkula; Hyde Park Estate, New Chandigarh; Park Place, Jalandhar; Samatara, Shimla; Commanders Court, Chennai; Gardencity, Chennai; Maiden Heights, Bangalore; Riverside, Kochi; New Town Heights, Kochi.

The discounts to be given will range from 3 to 5 per cent that is it varies from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakh as per case-to-case basis on residential developments in Jalandhar, Panchkula, New Chandigarh, Bangalore, Chennai, Shimla and Kochi. This offer is valid only on direct bookings from January 21 to March 15, 2012.

DLF’s Net Profit Dropped by 4.8%

India’s biggest real estate company, DLF Ltd, accounted a bordering drop of 4.8% in its net profit for the year ending 31 March 2011. Company’s combined net profit stood at Rupees1,640 crore in comparison to Rs1,720 crore in fiscal 2010. The earnings per share for the year stood at Rupees9.66 versus Rupees10.13 in fiscal 2010.

However, for the quarter ending 31 March, organisation’s net profit stood at Rupees 344.54 crore, a drop of 19% in comparison to Rupees 426.38 crore in the subsequent period in the previous financial year. It reported combined revenue of Rupees10,145 crore for the year ending 31 March 2011 and an increase of 29 per cent from Rupees7,851 crore in the subsequent period in the previous fiscal.

EBIDTA stood at Rupees 4,337 crore, after adjusting for a one-time cost reset due to input price high of Rupees 475 crore.

Real Estate Sector is Worried Over Hike in Home Loan Rates by RBI

The hike in interest rates may have a wrinkly effect on the real estate sector with construction cost rising up. This announcement by RBI will have a negative impact on real estate developers already spining under pressure from lack of capital from financial institutions. It comes as bad news even for those looking to buy a house as loans would become more costlier. Several banks like ICICI Bank, SBI and IDBI indicated that they would increase interest rates on loans in near future.

Chairman of Credai said, “The 50 BPs hike is harsh. This will deepen the cash crunch scenario which industry is facing right now. Taking out funds of the market cannot be the only solution to overcome inflation. The current pressure on prices is global in character and reflects supply side bottleneck. The solution is not monetary tightening. To me it is surprising and anti-housing policy.” Ashok Tyagi, group CFO, DLF said, “hiking interest rate has never been a tool to fight inflation. This could start impacting supply side investment.”

DLF Deals with Mango: Ramps its Presence in Fashion Retail

DLF Brand, a subordinate of DLF Ltd, has come up with its presence in fashion retail trade by collaborating with the Spanish Brand Mango. This happened since the brand announced its two other new retail trends, including a multi-brand showroom chain, of its own. The DLF group company had also launched, for the first time, its own brand, Pure Home and Living, a premier home decor and furnishing brand of retail showrooms. The first of the showroom opened in Delhi  two months back competing with Future Group’s Home Town and Landmark Group’s Home Centre.

Mango, the Spanish Fashion Brand, with over 1,700 showrooms worldwide, decided to sign up DLF as partner to fast track its expansion after nearly a decade of operations in India. The Spanish Brand of clothing has been majorly in partnership with Major Brands through which it released almost 15 stores. DLF will be leading the new showrooms openings. DLF, which has already opened Mango’s travel retail showroom at the new terminal (T3) of New Delhi airport and plans to add another six more stores in the current year, said DLF Brands CFO Dipak Agarwal.

“The major collaborations are now looking to grow assertively here in India having been around for so long. The company wants to concentrate on brand-building and designate the expansion to its franchisee,” Agarwal added. DLF also operates other universal fashion names such as Armani, DKNY, Ferragamo and Mothercare.

DLF is set to launch a multi-brand retail store chain of international fashion brands, the company official said. These showrooms will also store brands that are not part of DLF Brands and will be competing with the high-end retail formats like The Collective, a unit of Aditya Birla Nuvo.

“The multi-brand showrooms will be like a premium discount showrooms keeping high-end fashion labels but at lower price, as there is an opportunity in the market for such showrooms which are highly internationally popular. These stores will be done up gracefully and won’t look like the second stores or factory outlets which are available at present,” Agarwal said. The first of the multi-brand showroom is spread across 10,000 sq. ft which will open in Gurgaon.

DLF group spreads across 16,000 to 18,000 sq. ft is looking to open more 4-5 stores in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune by end of this year.

After Affordable housing, it’s Luxurious housing’s turn

Luxurious house in Port Douglas
Photo by Saga A’xeron
After the success of ‘Affordable homes’, realtors are now moving towards the launch of luxurious housing. The demand for luxurious houses indicates that there is big scope for realtors there.

With this increase in demand, many developers including Ansal API, Unitech, DLF, Emaar MGF etc are jumping into this business and plan to launch huge number of housing projects within next six months, where the cost of each single unit will be over Rs. 2 cr.

According to the executive vice-chairman and managing director at Emaar MGF, Shravan Gupta, since the recession period is over and job market is looking up, there are chances of realty boom too.

Within six months, cities like Punjab, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kerala will be overloaded with such projects.

Part of Dubai World to be bought by DLF

Sunrise - Building 65 Kodak Park
The stake owned by Limitless Group, part of Dubai World, in Bidadi Knowledge City in southern Karnataka state will be bought by a unit of DLF.

Currently, a restructuring worth 23.5 billion dollar is going on in the Dubai World.

In April 2009, Limitless said that since authorities there have not bought the required land, so it was looking a 12 billion dollar project; both residential and commercial in India.

In October 2007, India’s DLF and Limitless first time went into the construction of Bidadi city on the outskirts of Bangalore.

June quarter not good for Realty Firms

Hyderabad Properties - Real Estate India - Vertex Lake View 2
Since the sales of residential realty are diminishing gradually these days, it is expected that the real estate companies will experience decline in the first quarter of financial year 2010-11. However, it cannot be ignored that the office market is picking up with the economy.

As per the data collected by leading stock brokerages show, it is expected that in the June quarter, the realty companies will undergo around a 20% growth in the net profit and a growth of 38-40% in net sales. As per the data of last year, there had been a net profit of over 80% which certainly brings the conclusion that market has experienced a decline in sales and profit.

A stock analyst with a Mumbai-based brokerage said that as compared to the June quarter of financial year 2010, the numbers look somewhat flat in this financial year.

For instance, the gross margins of DLF were 49% and had a growth of only 4%. Similarly, Unitech’s net profits had a growth of just 1%.

DLF got NOC for SEZ Kolkata

Nightscene, Shenzhen 2005
One of the leading real estate developers in India, DLF, has been granted the NOC from the government today, thus the firm will now resume its plan for SEZ, a special economic zone in Kolkata.

After a meeting of the Board of Approval which is the nodal body for SEZ-related matters, Mr. D K Mittal, the Commerce Ministry Additional Secretary told the media that the DLF’s SEZ in Kolkata has been granted re-notification by the Board of Approval.

In June, 2008, DLF had come up with four SEZ projects out of which one was SEZ Kolkata.

DLF have gained this notification after a long struggle since it had to approach the Commerce Ministry for reviving this IT/ITeS tax-free zone. Finally, once the demand for IT/ITES leasing space came up, the company allowed for resuming the project.