Lodha delivered its best ever Q1 pre-sales at INR 3,353 crores, marking a strong start to the new financial year. It also added 5 new projects with GDV potential of INR Rs. 12,000 crores across different micro-markets.
Commenting on the performance, Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO, Lodha said “With a strong start for the year, the performance achieved is in line with our guidance of 20% pre-sales growth for FY24. Demand conditions remain robust with a very strong consumer desire to buy a home. With RBI already pausing its interest rate hiking cycle and likelihood of downward journey of interest rates in next few quarters, we see momentum for housing continuing to strengthen. India’s job creation continues to remain robust and combined with good affordability and mortgage availability, housing will be key driver of India’s growth for the foreseeable future.
We added 5 projects with a GDV of INR ~12,000 crores in Q1 across various micro-markets. Given the pace of new project additions and strengthening pipeline of business development opportunities, we are well on our way to exceed our full year guidance for new project additions.
Our collections were INR 2,403 crores and we expect these to pick up in the remaining quarters of the FY. Our net debt has increased marginally by ~3% (INR 7,264 crores from INR 7,073 crores), primarily on account of front loaded business development investment. This marginal increase is on a significantly enlarged base of sales and business development. We remain on the path to achieve our full year guidance for reduction of net debt to lower of 0.5x equity and 1x Operating Cash flow, with significant debt reduction seen in H2.”
Lodha’s efforts in sustainability are increasingly being recognized by various leading global benchmarks. After receiving exceptional scores from S&P Global, GRESB and Morningstar Sustainalytics during previous quarters, Lodha has added yet another feather in its cap by becoming part of the prestigious FTSE4Good Index Series in its latest review in June 2023.
Guided by its philosophy of “Do Good, Do Well”, Lodha launched Lodha Genius Programme with Ashoka University – a leading Indian university. Around 100 students from diverse backgrounds were handpicked who underwent a month long campus programme and benefitted from mentoring by some of the finest minds in the world including Nobel Laureates. Through this initiative, Lodha aims to nurture and inspire the brightest young minds of our nation to reach their full potential.