Net profit of Sobha Developers rises 47%

The consolidated net profit of Sobha Developers rose 47.78 percent in the quarter ending September 2012 to Rs 50.1 crore from Rs 33.9 crore in the year-ago period because of a strong growth in net sales. Consolidated net sales of the firm expanded 40.9 percent in the said quarter to Rs 414.0 crore from Rs 293.8 crore in the September 2011 quarter. The company attributed the robust sales growth to timely delivery and superior quality and said it plans to have a pipeline filled with launches in the coming months. The real estate company sold 0.95 million sq ft of new space for around Rs 527 crore at an average price realisation of Rs 5,575 per sq ft during the quarter. Although the company's total expense rose to Rs 300.4 crore in the September 2012 quarter from Rs 207.9 cr in the year-ago period, it spent only Rs 46.1 crore on land compared to Rs 212 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company's net profit grew 11.33 percent in the September 2012 quarter on a sequential basis while its operating income contracted 4.24 percent from the previous quarter. The company launched two new projects, Sobha Morzaria Grandeur in Bangalore and Sobha Jade in Thrissur, Kerala during the quarter under consideration. It is also in the process of developing a residential project in Bangalore in partnership with Sun-Area Property Partners. Both the firms would invest Rs 50 crore each in the project. According to an official statement, the project would be developed through a special purpose vehicle, Sobha Highrise Ventures. Sobha Highrise Ventures became a subsidiary of Sobha Developers after the latter bought 1 lakh equity shares of the former for development of the project.