Godrej Properties' Chairman targets Rs 25,000 cr sales bookings in FY'25 on strong housing demand

New Delhi: Enthused by record sales bookings of Rs 22,500 crore last fiscal on strong housing demand, Godrej Properties Ltd Executive Chairman Pirojsha Godrej said the company would like to see some growth even on a high base and aim to achieve Rs 25,000 crore pre-sales numbers in 2024-25.

Earlier this week, Godrej Properties reported an 84 per cent increase in sales booking last fiscal to a record Rs 22,500 crore on higher volumes and the launch of premium housing projects amid strong consumer demand.

Godrej Properties has surpassed the sales booking numbers of Bengaluru-based Prestige Group, which has reported pre-sales of Rs 21,040 crore during 2023-24, and is likely to emerge as the largest listed real estate developer in terms of sales bookings in the 2023-24 financial year.

In an interview with PTI, Pirojsha Godrej said the company is expecting another good financial year, banking on the positive consumer sentiments.

"I think we will see another good year if the market stays as strong as it currently is. The launch pipeline for the current financial year is actually quite a bit stronger than it was during the last financial year. So, if the market continues to support, I think we will have another very good fiscal year," he said.

Asked about the sales bookings target for the current 2024-25 fiscal, Pirojsha said, "We would certainly like to see some growth even on this high base. So, hopefully, we will look at a Rs 25,000 crore kind of number."

He said the company would give sales bookings guidance while announcing the annual financial results for 2023-24.

Mumbai-based Godrej Properties, part of business conglomerate Godrej Group, is one of the leading real estate developers in India. It has a huge presence in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Bengaluru. It entered Hyderabad last fiscal with the acquisition of two land parcels.

Elaborating more on its operational performance last fiscal, Pirojsha said, 'We had a slow start but we are happy to have caught up. The team has been performing very well and the market is being very supportive'.

He noted that sales bookings in the Delhi-NCR market crossed Rs 10,000 crore in the last fiscal and said the company plans to launch multiple housing projects in Delhi, Noida and Gurugram in the current financial year.

Asked about factors driving sales, Pirojsha said the real estate sector has turned into an upcycle since 2022 and there is a lot of 'consumer exuberance'.

He said the customers especially while buying under-construction properties are preferring top developers who have financial wherewithal to deliver projects.

"In the last boom time in early 2000, people have burnt their fingers badly while buying homes from less strong developers," he pointed out.

Pirojsha said the company's strategy to expand business across major cities and the decision to acquire land during the downturn of the real estate sector have helped the company achieve record sales.

"In the downturn, we did not get overly pessimistic. We raised the capital we need and deployed very aggressively into land acquisition when markets were not as hot as they are now," he explained.

Pirojsha said the company acquired the land parcels at an attractive valuation which is helping the company in terms of profit margins.

Godrej Properties noted that the company achieved its best-ever quarterly and annual sales during the fourth quarter of the last fiscal and for the full 2023-24, respectively.

Its sales bookings grew by 84 per cent year-on-year during the last fiscal to more than Rs 22,500 crore. In volume terms, the sales bookings rose 31 per cent year-on-year during the entire last fiscal to 20 million square feet (sq ft).

"This is the highest-ever annual sales announced to date by any publicly listed real estate developer in India. This was achieved through the sale of 14,310 homes with a total area of 20 million square feet," the company said.

Godrej Properties said that sales were driven by superlative consumer demand in some key new project launches.

Godrej Zenith in Delhi-NCR achieved a booking value of more than Rs 3,000 crore and Godrej Reserve in Mumbai Metropolitan Region achieved a booking value of Rs 2,690 crore, the company cited.