Unitech Shares Slump 7% on Q2 Loss

Unitech shares fell nearly 7 per cent on Thursday after the realty developer reported a loss of Rs 14.7 crore in the September quarter. In the year ago period, Unitech had reported a profit of Rs 25.6 crore, while its profit stood at Rs 5.6 crore in the June quarter.

Net sales also fell nearly 36 per cent year-on-year to Rs 384 crore as compared to Rs 596 crore as property sales slowed down.

India's realty sector is facing a massive slowdown as high interest rates have impacted demand. Developers have refused to cut prices, leading to rising inventory and debt.

Like many other realty companies, Gurgaon-based Unitech is struggling under high debt. Its net debt stood at Rs 5,900 crore as on June 30.

The company had earlier said it will sell non-core land parcels to reduce debt by 15-20 per cent and improve cash-flows for faster execution of ongoing projects. (Read)

Earlier this month, the company said it has reached a deal to sell its stakes in six IT-Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects in India to Canada's Brookfield Asset Management for 188.9 million pounds (about Rs. 1,850 crore). (Read the full story here)

As of 09.40 a.m., Unitech traded 5.5 per cent lower at Rs 19.90 and underperformed the broader realty sub-index on the BSE. It was the most traded stock (volume wise) on the BSE 500 index.

(With inputs from PTI)