Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Oberoi Realty Q1 FY24 earnings conference call. We have Mr. Oberoi, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, and Mr. Saumil Daru, Director of Finance of the company, with us for the call. Please note that this call will be for 30 minutes, and for the duration of this conference call, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and this conference call is being recorded. The transcript for the same may be put up on the website of the company. After the management discussion, there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, you may signal the operator by pressing star and then zero on your touchtone telephone.
Before I hand the conference over to the management, I would like to remind you that certain statements made during the course of this call may not be based on historical information or facts, and may be forward-looking statements, including those relating to general business statements, plans, strategy of the company, the future financial condition and growth prospect. The forward-looking statements are based on expectations and projections, and may involve a number of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, opportunities, and growth potential to differ materially from those suggested by such statements. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Oberoi, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company. Thank you. Over to you, sir.
Thank you. Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to all of you, as per the time zones from which you have logged in, and welcome to the conference call of the Q1 FY24 results and business updates. Thank you all for taking time out for this call. Friends, despite international volatility, the Indian economy continues to maintain its upward momentum on account of increased demand and infrastructure creation. All verticals in the real estate industry have also been a huge beneficiary of this economic growth, especially the demand for premium housing. On the back of this rising customer demand, coupled with upcoming festive period, we are confident that the demand for quality housing by reputed brands having a proven track record, will continue to sustain.
Before I begin, I'd like to share with you a few quick business updates. We have received occupation certificates for our Maxima Residential Project. We, as I had told you, we've also received part occupation certificate for our building, Commerz III, and we've also handed over the area which is already being leased for fit-out to our anchor tenant. We've entered into an MOU to acquire additional land parcel of 6.4 acres in Thane, which was contiguous to our erstwhile land. This kind of completes the entire land package from all ends, north, south, east, west. You know, this gives us a large chunk, chunk big enough, probably even more potential than the one in Goregaon, which we will now be starting our development soon.
With this, I want to open the floor for question and answer, and both Saumil and I will be happy to take your questions. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star one on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Parikshit Kandpal from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi, Vikas. Congratulations on a decent quarter. My first question-
Yeah, sir.
My first question is, go back a little bit, in Q2 FY22, we had guided or I think you had said that we will foray outside MMR, and you had also spoken about short cycle redevelopment projects, significantly ramping up business development. Being seven quarters now, we have seen some of the older projects like Thane now getting stabilized and maybe potentially getting launched. From new business development point of view, you had said, also said that you have set a separate team for looking at redevelopment opportunities. In this journey, where are we, being, like, seven quarters now? We have seen some of your peers doing up some amazing business development activities in MMR. Some are coming into MMR, but where are we in this journey?
If you can help us understand from the strategy point of view.
You know, firstly, you know, I appreciate the fact that others are doing well. One, you know that we have a ongoing deal in Gurgaon, which we are continuing to be in a, you know, closing mode and all that. That, that's one bit we are working. We've done one redevelopment. We've signed the LOI, awaiting to sign the development agreement, and we are looking at multiple land parcels. It's just that, I mean, you know, we are yet to bring it to a stage where we can announce it to you all. Robust activity as far as BD is concerned, and you will see, you know, some good announcement, hopefully, in the next quarter.
What is the cumulative value of all these, business developments which are in advanced stage?
let them happen, you will be pleasantly surprised.
Okay.
We are very excited and looking forward.
Okay. Just my last question is on the Three Sixty West. We've kind of seen some kind of a lull setting in, in this project. There was a euphoria last year, everything, great things happening there. It's a world-class product, best product probably in Mumbai, but still, given the luxury demand has been all-time high, but still this project is not moving. Can you help us understand what's your plan here to monetize this? Because a huge chunk, almost INR 5,000 crore plus of inventory, which can utilize for growth. How do you intend to monetize it?
You know, two things. One, you know that our partner did a fire sale and exited in March, and there was a huge amount of sale that he did. Obviously, there was a bit of an overhang in the first quarter, which was, you know, pretty much what we had expected. We have done five transactions after that. Unfortunately, you know, we, we haven't received enough money to say that, you know, it's a part of that quarter, so you will see this happen in this quarter. Again, no surprises as far as Three Sixty West also is concerned. I mean, you, you'll, you'll read them in the paper very soon, and you'll be very happy to see what numbers we've got.
Okay. Thank you, Vikas. I'll join you.
Thanks.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Puneet from HSBC. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you so much, and congrats on good numbers.
Thank you.
Hi, can you talk a bit about, you know, your plan for Thane? When should we expect a launch this quarter also for Glaxo? What kind of area are you looking for the Oberoi Mall in Borivali, and the status on, of leasing? Yeah.
Let me tell you about both the projects. We have Kolshet, where we have five towers. Contracts awarded to L&T. They have started actual work at site. As far as. Then we've done RERA registration there. We are now in the process of awarding our contract for Pokhran Road. Here, we will start our first phase with three towers. We'll start construction on five towers, but start our, you know, the launch will be for three towers. We are envisaging the launch to be in the festive season around October, which will probably be, to be more specific, in the third or the fourth week of October, is when we are planning to do our launch.
You will start seeing our advertising build up for Pokhran Road, probably in somewhere around September. You know, that is, the, the last 45-60 days is when we will do that. We have projects which are, I mean, these apartments are three bedroom. All our show apartments are ready, experience center fully ready and, you know, ready to be open to the public now.
Glaxo?
Okay. That's Pokhran Road. Glaxo is Pokhran Road. Are you talking about the Thane one?
No, no, the Worli one. Yeah.
Okay. Worli, we are yet continuing to wait and watch. I don't know whether you all know this bit, but a part of our land was temporarily given to the metro for them to do their work. We've just got that back. Like I said, that, you know, we are most likely to go in for resi, and we will plan and come out soon on that.
On the Oberoi Mall, Borivali, what is the leasing status and, and how is it likely to be ultimately?
Great. You, you guys will be happy to know the entire civil work of our mall is now complete. We are doing our part of the fit-out, and we will, we are looking at probably, you know, our internal target to give fit-outs is somewhere around February and March, because we've got like an anchors who would probably take a little longer. We are looking at more like, you know, probably next year's pre-Diwali launch. I mean, like, we'll have a good three, four months before we get into the Diwali fes- mode, but that's about it. This is where we are.
And leasing status, I'm sure you would have leased a chunk of it. Can you give some number around that? What kind of rentals are you seeing?
You know, I, I just tell you that, of course, you know, rentals have really caught up. In the sense, we are seeing tremendous demand in Goregaon, and we will pitch it similar to this, though, that mall is much bigger, the catchment is equally good or even better for that matter. I feel, I mean, you know, at least internal targets are to be in and around our Goregaon Mall numbers. Of course, this is a mature mall, but, they'll pretty much be on the, in that ballpark.
Right. That's.. size?
Size, I think, we have a carpet leasable area of a little over 760,000 sq ft. It's almost 2x of the Goregaon Mall. Leasable is about 11 lakh sq ft, 1.1 million or something.
Understood. That's very useful. Lastly, you know, your thoughts on the Mumbai market, do you see, you know, further room for pricing growth, given that, you know, there is a chatter of lot more supply coming? How do you read that?
..., you know, firstly, I'm not a big fan of increasing prices. I'd rather say that there should be constant supply of land at a decent price, and we as developers should treat this as a, you know, like a processing industry. Build good quality product and sell them, and that's about it. You know, literally, people who want to consume real estate should buy. I want to say that, you know, consumption per person per square foot has gone up, and that really is the delta one is playing with, you know. Today, a family of four want to buy a much bigger house, and, you know, so that's really where the demand is coming out from.
Again, I mean, I said that, you know, it is appreciating, it's appreciating faster than what I think, but I don't really want to get into that speculative bit. I'd rather focus on, you know, what we are good at and, and continue with that.
You know, increase in price is a by-product-
Yeah.
both of, you know, how well you build, how well you picked your location, and so on and so forth. I don't want to dwell much into it or rather go into it
In terms of your strategy, you would rather focus on selling as much as you can as soon as you launch, rather than in a staggered way to get the benefit of price increase?
Frankly, you know, I'll tell you, we know pretty much what individual markets are capable of absorbing. We ensure that, you know, we first test the market, and then based on that, we continue to play our launches, and that's about it. Obviously, like, you know, we, we also don't want to overbuild, because building also costs money. At the same time, we don't want to play a game where, you know, you, you restrict supply and increase price. For us, that's never the agenda, and we followed that in Borivali. You could clearly see that we've always, you know, at the back of the demand, continued to launch and not go so much on price.
Understood. That's all right. Thank you so much, and all the best.
Thank you, Puneet.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pritesh Sheth from Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Please go ahead.
Hi, Pritesh.
Hi, Vikas. Hi, Saumil. Thanks for the question. First question is, Saumil, if you can help me reconcile the leasing segment revenue for this quarter, it's at around INR 140 crore, versus our, you know, usual run rate is INR 80 crore-INR 90 crore, given occupancy and rentals will remain same. You know, what's the moving part there?
Hi, Pritesh. Basically, you know, as Mr. Oberoi mentioned, you know, at the beginning of the call, that we have handed over, you know, the area to the anchor tenant for, you know, the fit-out in Comp III. From the Ind AS perspective, once the fit-out period starts, then you start your straight-lining of revenue. That differential which you see is on account of the accounting treatment of the straight-lining of revenue.
Okay, so, so INR 50 crore a quarter is the revenue, right?
Correct. Roughly, that is the number which will come in every quarter.
Okay, got it. Got it. Second on Elysian, if I see, a sharp price increase again this quarter, probably, if I understand it correctly, it should be because of the sales of higher, higher floor units?
Yes, you are absolutely correct. As you recollect, you know, firstly, is also the fact that, you know, in October, we had increased the prices. That is the bit. You know, we have always told you all every year, every time that, you know, the average for every quarter depends upon, you know, the total floor mix which is happening. We now have, you know, virtually got only the higher floors as far as Goregaon is concerned. Most of the inventory on the lower floors is exhausted. That's what you're seeing.
Sure. Coming to my next question on same project. We have a tower launch, coming, I mean, in this quarter for Elysian, Goregaon?
You know, like I said, that work is going on for all the towers. We will take a strategic call and then launch. We still have inventory in the first, two towers that we launched, and we have some more absorption for us to do, and then we'll make this, announcement as well. Like I said, that, you know, because our construction is on, the, the day we sell, we'll instantly be able to, you know, it won't really have any lead time with regards to revenue recognition or anything of that sort.
Okay, can we expect that anytime this year, or, it should be next year?
No, no, 100% this year. 101% this year. It's just that whether it's this quarter, You know, these days, what we are doing is a little more cautious. We normally end up being ambitious and say that we'll launch in the next quarter, and then sometimes it slips to the quarter after that. I think we should just keep our caution. It, it either is this quarter or next quarter, but then it will be like that. Yeah.
Got it, got it. Thanks. That's really helpful. All the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Saurabh Kumar from JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Hi, Saurabh.
Hi. I have two questions. One is, you know, this Three Sixty West, what are you thinking now, you know, for the time it should take to sell the balance units? Is that INR 1 lakh pricing really a headwind? The second is, on this margin. Your residential or the development business margins have gone to, you know, about 45% in the last year they were at those levels. Fair to say that the business has now reached to a higher level, or should we come back to that mid-30s level over time?
Frankly, let me just tell you that, the margins that you see, I think, you know, these are the minimum margins most developers should work on. Because, you know, our capital cycle is such that it continues to be stuck for much longer. You know, I think these are reasonable margins, there's nothing high about it. They don't seem, that they should not be dropping. I mean, and our business development also is based on these margins. We make sure that we get land, where we at least get this margin, because, you know, the end effect of this margin, you know, the return you get is, is, is still not that great, you know? There's no, there is no, I would say, plan or idea that we need to drop our margins.
What was your earlier question?
On, on the Worli piece, so, you know, is that pricing, a headwind for sales now, or how should we think about your, the Three Sixty West sales? You know.
Yeah.
What about Three Sixty West?
Yeah, under what time frame do you think, you know, this will sell, is the basic question.
See-
In that time, it's not like impacting sales.
You know, Three Sixty West, according to me, is a cult project. It's probably, you know, I'm, I'm very, you know, I would say, humbled and pleased and honored to have built that project, but I feel it's probably the best project in, you know, the city or the country or whatever one can say. It's got, you know, it's got a momentum of its own. You know, so we are not really unduly worried about it. Like I told you that, you know, there's, there's enough and more demand, and, like I said, that it's, it's, it's deciding a journey of its own.
Okay. Is there an order book which is not closing or...
Sorry?
My question is, is there an order book that you have in Three Sixty West, or-?
You, you will, you will start seeing in papers because, you know, these things don't remain hidden. I'd rather let my work speak than me tell you anything about it.
Okay. Thank you.
Thanks.
Thank you. We have the next question from the line of Kunal Lakhan from CLSA. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, Vikas, and hi, Saumil.
Hi, hi.
On Mulund, right, I mean, we received the part OC sometime back, but, you know, in terms of volumes, it still remains, you know, but lower than what one would expect. How should we look at, you know?
Sorry, sorry. Can you repeat your question, please?
On, on Mulund, right, we received the Part OC a while back, but volumes are still, you know, kind of lagging, I would say. When can we expect like a, like a, you know, sharp revival here, considering the project is almost ready now?
You know, again, like I said, that I see Mulund as a market which probably, you know, picks up once the product is ready. Now, product is ready, we've delivered, you know, we've got feedback, both positive and negative. Wherever it's negative, we are working on it and sorting them out. We, you know, and I feel that from our end at least, you know, the project has really, really turned out very well. The common areas are, you know, like, they could be compared to any or anywhere in the world. They're like that good. I feel that I think, give it another quarter and you will see a sharp rise.
I have, you know, I think that at, at some point in time, it'll probably, you know, go at par or even beat Borivali numbers. I'm very, very hopeful and optimistic about it. If you really see, we have, you know, inventory worth a little four, around INR 4,000 crore between the two apartments, two buildings to sell. Again, almost fully built, all expenses done. This is like literally, you know, cash flow to the, you know, the top line is literally our bottom line here.
Sure, sure. I mean, the only concern is that in almost 800 unsold, you know, inventory, and then, you know, like, we are clocking like less than 50 units a quarter.
You know, just see, you know, if you see Esquire, very similar, we had a large inventory. Once the building got ready, you know, it ramps up big time. You know, a lot of people today believe in a ready product, and they, they buy around then, you know. I think that's, that's what is unique about that market, I would say.
Sure, sure. The second question was on a pricing strategy, right? I mean, we are seeing that happening both in Goregaon as well as Worli, right? You know, Worli, Goregaon prices are, have appreciated quite a lot. Even Worli, right, we are hearing, you know, INR 120,000 per square feet. You know, how should we look at the pricing strategy? Is it like, you know, is it like really, really opportunistic in nature, or the focus is here is to like, you know, get out of the project and then move on to the next one? How should we look at the strategy?
No, frankly, it's neither. It's not that. I mean, you know, basically, all our pricing is based on the cost and, you know, cost, replacement cost. Many things are factored in. A lot of people feel that, oh, just because I have demand, I'm increasing the price. Not really. You know, if you see in Goregaon, we don't have a single square inch that is ready and it to be sold, including all the penthouses of the world, you know? All are sold. If you see, if you really track the secondary market in Goregaon-...Ready apartments today are selling at INR 45,000 a sq ft plus, plus. We are still in, in booking at INR 30,000 sq ft.
If you will do a Net Present Value of what you're buying ready versus what, I'm gonna give you in, in a few years, we are still a lot cheaper, this way. You know, obviously, like, I'm not-- the product we build is great, but what we are building is, you know, it's like the next gen today, even better. If you really look at the price arbitrage, it's still a steal, not even a deal, actually, you know, when you buy an apartment in Goregaon. That's the way we look at pricing. We don't really look at, oh, today there's demand, let's push the price up, you know? We are happy sellers. If you really look at how we've priced, Borivali, you know, you will come to a similar conclusion.
You know, I mean, look at Borivali. We launched, we've launched seven towers, one after the other, and all of them have been humongous successes. Yet, we know we've only incrementally increased prices, not exponentially increased at all, you know? In fact, the secondary market is selling at a premium, we still sell at our same price. We understand that, you know, somebody, you know, may want an apartment which is next to him or whatever that reason being, it being in, in the towers that are now literally ready for it to be delivered, and that's why pricing and all that. We, we understand that there is a premium which people are paying for something that's ready, and we are under construction. We still don't get carried away or push prices up and all that.
Sure. Sure. Lastly, you know, can you give some more color on Thane project? Like, you mentioned three towers, but like, you know, and all three beds, but, like, how many number of units in phase one, and, you know, any indication on the, the ticket sizes, et cetera?
You know, I'll, I'll give you a number once again. Just it's still the back of the envelope, I mean, because.
Sure.
I wasn't expected to speak so much about it. Typically, I'd say. We will, we will launch, I mean, at least we'll start work. As far as Pokhran Road is concerned, we will be starting work at probably 1,800 apartments, and we ideally like to launch one tower at a time. We start work at all five, so is at Kolshet as well, you know?
Sure. Ticket sizes, in, especially in Pokhran?
Little too early. You know, you know, see, the good part is there's price discovery done in and around our area. We are literally, you know, I would say probably our nose ahead in terms of location when it comes to, you know, the competitive landscape there. Our, you know, Pokhran Road two is probably among the best location in Thane. Kolshet is also a beautiful plot, large land parcel, five towers planned. You know, you know the competitive landscape, you know, what Raymond is selling at, what Tatas are selling at in Pokhran Road and all that. You know, we'll, we'll be competitive. We have enough to sell and, you know, yeah, we, we'll, we'll be a very good deal for the buyers.
Great. Thanks. Thanks, Vikas.
Thanks.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pulkit Patni from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thank you for taking my question. Hi, hi, hi, Vikas. Vikas, continuing on Thane, I'm not clear. You are saying, pre-Diwali, you'll launch the Kolshet Road projects, and Pokhran will be along with that, or Pokhran would be subsequent? When would Pokhran be launched?
Many thanks for asking this question. It's the other way around. We will launch Pokhran Road first, and then we will launch Kolshet. Though Kolshet work has started before Pokhran, the show apartment in Pokhran are totally ready, the experience center is ready, and we will be wanting to launch that first, and then this one. In fact, even here, we are at the final stages of awarding that contract.
Okay. No, that's helpful because.
He come first, and then will be Kolshet.
Okay. Our understanding was that you launched Kolshet, used that to discover pricing, and then launch Pokhran. Okay, this is clear. Then Kolshet would be around the same time, or it would be subsequent?
You know, it could be a quarter later and all that, but all within this year. I mean, you will really see us bulking up at the end, and that's about it. Very excited. Like I said, that, you know, we've not wasted any time in ensuring that the work is started. You know, like I said, that in, in Kolshet, we have L&T as our principal contractor, and here also we are talking to, you know, like some of the top contractors, and that's about it.
Understood. Vikas, can you talk about some of the other potential projects which are being talked about, you know, Pedder Road, Tardeo, et cetera? Any color on timing, et cetera, that you can speak about?
You know, thankfully, you know all this, we try and keep all this until they are ready for the investor to know or, or, you know, rather by, you know, you guys to know. We kind of keep it wrapped because, you know, like, a lot of these redevelopment projects, you know, one cannot have a set timeline. There is a tenant or two. We'd rather have them cleared and then launch. Since you asked, yes, you know, we have a project on Pedder Road, which obviously it's registered in the company's name. We are down to the last one or two tenants. Once that gets done, we'll obviously be launching a luxury product. Yeah, so that's one. Similar is Tardeo. Again, you know, we've done the rehab building.
We start giving possession for the rehab building probably, you know, maybe late this year or early next year. When you say next year, as in next calendar year. Yes, we have a very large potential there also. There are a few similar, in similar range. Like I said, that let us come to a stage, and then we'll. We have a huge pipeline. It's just that we, we are not, you know, we don't put the cart before the horse, and that's our style, and we would love to be that way.
Sure, that's helpful. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that will be our last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Oberoi for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Thank you all for taking time out for this call. We really look forward to hearing from you on ongoing basis. Please feel free to reach out to our investor relation team. Saumil and I are also always available. Look forward to being in touch with you. Thank you again. See you all. Bye-bye.
Thank you. On behalf of Oberoi Realty, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.