Top Property Developers Halve Their Net Debt

Chennai: Top eight property developers have halved their debts from the peak level in FY19 as their collective booking values go up over 200 per cent during the period.

Some of the top listed developers, including Sobha, Puravankara, Prestige Estates, Kolte Patil, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Godrej Properties, DLF, and Lodha Developers, have reduced their debt levels to around Rs 20,808 crore as on Q1 FY25, against a total debt of Rs 44,817 crore in Q4 FY19. Their debt levels had been going up in the previous decade and had reached a peak by FY19.

Among them, DLF brought down its net debt to zero and became Rs 2896 crore cash surplus. Kolte Patil’s too is now cash surplus with Rs 37 crore and Lodha reduced its net debt by 83 per cent between Q4 FY19 and Q1 FY25, according to Anarock.

“Some players even saw their net debt rise in this period,” said Prashant Thakur, Regional Director and Head Research, Anarock Group. “However, these developers also saw a high jump in their booking values over the year. The rise in debt is mainly due to their aggressive expansion across the geographies as many have been on a land buying spree across cities.”

The booking values of these companies have gone up by 234 per cent during the period. In FY19 these top 8 listed players recorded a collective booking value of Rs 27,144 crore and it went up to Rs 90,573 crore in FY2024.

The first quarter of this financial year alone saw a collective booking value of Rs 26,832 crore - nearly 99 per cent of the total value clocked in FY19, and 30 per cent of the total value in the whole of FY24. With three more quarters left in the ongoing financial year, the booking values can see further rise.