Full Transcript of the conference call with Ashiana Management and Analysts on Covid19 impact on their business. Click here to listen in to the transcript:
We have no insight yet on when we can resume construction, right now we are assuming April 15
On labour availability: 95% of laborers have stayed back in their cities waiting to resume construction, small number have returned to their villages
We believe we are healthier than the competition, but don't want to get into forecasting mode considering the current situation is uncertain and evolving
On the possibility of a buyback: not really thinking about it right now since our focus has been operational so far. This will depend on how our cash flows pan out over the next 3-4 months in terms of sales and collections. Right now we cannot predict how that will pan out
Land prices may be discounted a lot in the future which may change the feasibility of future projects
We would be able to restart operations in 24 hours once the lockdown is lifted. Construction had started for all projects that were launched in Q1, Q2 and Q3
In terms of loan tracking, we are not as robust as we should be, but we are getting more information. We haven't yet come to the situation where we are seeing payment stress. 90-95% of our loans are via SBI and HDFC
We are working to reduce and defer outflows. Our fixed costs are Rs. 5 crore per month which we are looking to reduce. Reducing our marketing budget, whatever bank borrowings we are we are expecting absolute interest costs to reduce. Construction costs are likely to reduce as well, giving us some buffer there.
At this moment of time not considering layoffs
Bank balance as of March: we are net cash positive. Rs100 crores as a group
Lockdown is a supply shock to the economy. Overall balance sheet of the real estate industry, debt coverage ratio as a whole is less than 1. With this kind of shock now happening, consolidation is likely to come into the picture for the sector
On supply chain breakdown possibilities: that is a result of the lockdown, and confusion at the ground level of what kind of business traffic to permit. Our view is that what media coverage is an over-estimate on the impact. Most labor for example has stayed back because there was no time to return to their hometowns. Most of the supply chain should be able to restart pretty quickly.