Godrej Properties First-Quarter Net Income Jumps Sevenfold on New Projects

Godrej Properties Ltd., the Indian real estate company controlled by billionaire Adi Godrej, said first-quarter profit rose more than sevenfold as it started selling projects in the cities of Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

Net income climbed to 224 million rupees ($4.7 million) in the three months ended June 30 from 29.8 million rupees a year earlier, according to a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. Sales more than doubled to 412 million rupees.

Mumbai-based Godrej was the only major Indian property developer to sell shares in an initial public offering last year, planning to use the funds to reduce debt and build projects. India faces a shortage of 24.7 million homes, according to government data.

The second phase of the project in Ahmedabad, the capital of western Gujarat state, was fully sold in two days, the company said in a statement. More than 50 percent of the project in Kolkata, the capital of the eastern state of West Bengal, was sold in its first phase, according to the statement.

Godrej Properties shares have increased 44 percent to a record 704.45 rupees since the company made its Mumbai trading debut on Jan. 5. That compares with a 2.3 percent increase in the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pratik Parija in New Delhi at pparija@bloomberg.net.

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