Godrej Properties net debt falls 22 per cent to Rs 1,260 crore

Realty firm Godrej Properties' net debt has fallen 22 per cent to Rs 1,260 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year, mainly with the help of funds raised through rights issue.

Net debt of Godrej Properties, the realty arm of Godrej Group, stood at Rs 1,611 crore at the end of the first fiscal quarter.

"Our total net debt of Rs 1,260 crore stands at the lowest level it has been in the past 2 years and our borrowing cost has declined both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter to approximately 11.3 per cent," Godrej Properties managing director and CEO Pirojsha Godrej said.

The company's debt-to-equity ratio that stood at 2:1 at the end of calendar year 2011. It was 1.1:1 at the end of the first quarter of this financial year and has come down to a little over 0.5:1, according to the transcript of Godrej's conference call with analysts.

"Through our rights issue, which was oversubscribed, we raised Rs 700 crore which made it India's largest rights issue in the first half of the current financial year," Mr Godreg said.

"This capital has strengthened our balance sheet and has increased our ability to continue to add value accretive new projects in key markets."

Sale of shares to existing shareholders via rights Issue was launched in August this year. Part of the raised funds would also be utilised to add new projects, he said.

Stating that 75 per cent of the rights issue capital came from the promoters, Mr Godrej termed it as a "strong signal of their confidence in Godrej Properties growth prospects".

Godrej Properties has presence in 12 cities across India with about 90 million sq ft of potential developable area. The company reported 48 per cent rise in net profit during first half of this fiscal year at Rs 73.7 crore, while total income grew by 21 per cent to Rs 564.6 crore during the period under review.