Prestige trumps DLF in realty sweepstakes

Image: Deepak Pawar for Forbes India

Irfan Razack, Chairman & MD Prestige group

Southern real estate major Prestige Estates Projects for the first time outperformed India's largest listed developer DLF in annual sales of residential units during the fiscal year 2014-15.

Prestige, the country’s second largest listed real-estate company, mopped up Rs 5,014 crore in residential sales in FY15 as compared to DLF’s sales figure of Rs 3,850 crore in the same period. At the end of the FY14 the difference between the residential sales of the two rival companies was Rs 1,424 crore, with DLF in the lead. It is to be noted, the annual sales of residential units reported by listed real estate companies may not completely reflect upon their stated income or revenue for that accounting year.

As per Indian regulatory accounting standards real estate companies can book revenues and profits from sales of residential projects, only after the project has achieved 25 percent completion.

Interestingly, Prestige’s rise to the top has been fueled by a stable residential real estate market in Bengaluru, which accounts for a large portion of the developer’s sales. In the next three years, Prestige expects to touch Rs 20,000 crore in sales backed by its expansion plan into newer markets such as Mumbai.

Shares of Prestige closed at Rs 246.65 down 4.08 percent, while DLF ended 1.09 percent down at Rs 117.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.
The sensitive index, Sensex, ended the day up 1.17 percent.

(For more details: refer story on Prestige Estates in Forbes India's current issue).