Listed players trim debt by 54% in Q1 FY25 against peak year FY19-end

With residential sales creating a new peak across the top 7 cities in the last one year, buyer demand is heavily in favour of branded developers. The top eight listed players certainly have little to complain about, with remarkable sales seen across their projects.

Dr. Prashant Thakur, Regional Director & Head – Research, ANAROCK Group, says, “An analysis of the financial data of the top eight listed developers by ANAROCK shows a significant rise in their sales revenue, and their net debt has reduced by over 54% from the previous peak in FY 2019.

The net debt of the top eight players collectively reduced to approx. INR 20,808 Cr by Q1 FY 2025, from over INR 44,817 Cr in Q4 FY 2019 (when the overall debt of these listed players was at its peak). 

The top 8 listed players - Sobha Ltd., Puravankara Ltd., Prestige Estates, Kolte Patil, Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd., Godrej Properties Ltd., DLF Limited, and Lodha Developers (Macrotech) – regularly report their cost of debt in investor presentations.

The top developers to see a significant debt reduction between Q4 FY 2019 and Q1 FY 2025 are DLF Ltd. (165+% decline by gaining surplus cash of INR 2,896 Cr.) and Kolte Patil (107% reduction by gaining surplus cash of INR 37 Cr). Lodha reduced its net debt by 83% from Q4 FY2019 to Q1 FY25.

 “Some players even saw their net debt rise in this period,” says Dr. Thakur. “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 - many have been on a land buying spree across cities.