DLF Q3 net profit falls by 9% at Rs 131.79 cr on lower revenue

India's largest realty firm DLF today reported 9 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 131.79 crore for the quarter ended December due to fall in sales as well as other income.

Its net profit stood at Rs 145.29 crore in the year-ago period, DLF said in a filing to the BSE.

Income from operations fell by 5 per cent at Rs 1,956.72 crore for the third quarter of this fiscal from Rs 2,058.42 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Total income declined by 20 per cent to Rs 2,079.82 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, from Rs 2,590.2 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013.

Besides lower sales, DLF's net profit fell because its other income dropped by 77 per cent to Rs 123.1 crore during October-December quarter of this fiscal from Rs 531.78 crore in the year-ago period.

Finance cost, too, increased marginally to Rs 648 crore from Rs 633 crore during the period under review.

In a late night statement, DLF said the company "expects sales volume of residential products to reach normal volumes in the next 12-18 months". Rental business which is a leading indicator of demand continues to grow at targeted pace.

"The outlook in the office leasing business is much better given the current demand-supply situation. However, fresh capex to create new capacity will take place once rentals start to reflect the current cost structures," DLF said.

The company said it remains committed to the medium term goals related to debt reduction and cash-flows as outlined in February 2013, but "the timelines of its implementation has been adversely impacted due to slower GDP growth and uncertainties due to the SEBI restrictions."

In October last year, market regulator SEBI barred DLF and six others, including the company's chairman and other top executives, from accessing capital markets for three years for "active and deliberate suppression" of material information at the time of its public offer more than seven years ago in 2007.

DLF has a land bank of about 295 million square feet, of which 50 million square feet is under development.

The company's share price stood at Rs 157.30 apiece on the BSE, down 4 per cent from the previous closing. Its market cap stood at Rs 28,029 crore.