Conference Call with Macrotech Developers Management and Analysts on Q4FY23 Performance and Outlook. Listen to the full earnings transcript.
Realty company Macrotech Developers announced Q4FY23 results: Best-ever annual pre-sales of Rs 12,064 crore (+34% YoY) Net debt down by Rs 2,229 to Rs 7,071 crore Adds 12 projects in FY23 for Rs ~19,800 crore GDV Dividend of Rs 2 per share and 1:1 bonus shares Ranked in top 10 among global real estate companies by Morningstar Sustainalytics in ESG Pre-sales: FY23 at Rs 12,064 crore (+34% YoY), Q4FY23 at Rs 3,025 crore Embedded EBITDA margins on pre-sales: FY23 at 32%; Q4FY23 at ~31% Revenues from ops.: FY23 at Rs 9,470 crore (+3% YoY); Q4FY23 at Rs 3,255 crore Adjusted EBITDA: FY23 at Rs 2,970 crore (-8% YoY); Q4FY23 at Rs 977 crore PAT adj. for forex & exceptional: FY23 at Rs 1,769 crore (+40% YoY), Q4FY23 at Rs 751 crore Commenting on the performance, Abhishek Lodha, MD & CEO, Macrotech Developers, said, “We are extremely pleased to report our best ever annual pre-sales performance. What is even more heartening is that we have surpassed our full-year guidance in the face of the steep increase in interest rates. The recent monetary policy announcement by the RBI of a pause on the interest rate front should stimulate the economy, create more jobs and thereby boost housing. We delivered pre-sales at Rs 12,064 crore for FY23 thus outperforming our annual guidance by registering a 34% YoY growth. The growth journey of the Indian housing market on the back of rising incomes and favourable demography is just in the 2nd year of a multi-year cycle. Our strategy of capitalizing on industry consolidation by expanding into under-represented micro-markets of MMR and Pune is playing out well. Following our micro-market-based growth strategy, in a short span of time, we have become a formidable player in Pune and the eastern suburbs of MMR achieving Rs 1,126 crore and Rs 1,232 crore respectively. A price increase of nearly 8% for FY23 - below average wage growth, will lead to improvement in affordability and also reward existing homeowners – both drivers of demand. Driven by strong demand fundamentals and supply consolidation, we are very confident of achieving 20% CAGR in pre-sales over the medium term. In line with this, we expect to grow our pre-sales to Rs ~14,500 crore in FY24. Our strong brand, unique sales & marketing abilities as well as the ability to quickly monetize any land asset continue to make landowners prefer Lodha for maximizing their land value. We added new projects with GDV (sales) potential of Rs ~20,000 crore in FY23. This is in addition to the 11 projects added in the previous financial year for Rs ~15,000 crore. We expect to maintain a similar run-rate of new project additions primarily through JDAs on the back of a robust business development pipeline. This will help us deliver our growth objectives in a predictable and consistent manner. Lodha’s ability to reward its shareholders alongside growth is another of its unique strength. I am happy to share that we have commenced paying dividends this year. Our board took note of the robust performance and decided to reward shareholders by way of a 1:1 bonus issue as well as a dividend of Rs 2/share (pre-bonus). As communicated earlier, as per our dividend policy, we intend to pay 15% to 20% of our PAT as dividends (subject to remaining below our internal debt ceiling). Lodha continues to demonstrate a unique ability to generate surplus operating cash flow alongside substantial growth. This has enabled us to reduce our net debt by Rs 2,229 crore to Rs 7,071 crore in FY23 of which a reduction of Rs 971 crore was achieved in Q4FY23. The company also was able to bring down interest costs significantly during the year despite a 250 bps increase in policy rates: the average cost of debt for Lodha has come down by ~70 bps during the year to 9.8%. Lodha intends to continue to further reduce its net debt in FY24, focusing on going continually below our stated ceiling.” Result PDF