DLF shares fall 3% amid block deal; promoter group likely seller

Shares of real estate major DLF tumbled nearly 3% in early trade on Tuesday amid surge in volume due to block deal. The promoter or promoter group is likely to be the seller as they were planning to offload shares worth ₹1,086.2 crore in this transaction. The floor price for the block deal is at around 3% discount to the current market price (CMP).

Snapping four sessions gaining streak, DLF shares opened 1.66% lower at ₹510 apiece against the previous closing price of ₹518.65 on the BSE. In the first hour of trade so far, the realty heavyweight declined as much as 2.81% to ₹504.05, while the market capitalisation slipped to ₹1.25 lakh crore. On the volume front, 217 lakh shares changed hands over the counter as compared to the two-week average volume of 1.93 lakh stocks.

In the previous session, DLF shares touched a 52-week high of ₹521.70 on the BSE, while it hit a 52-week low of ₹336.55 on March 14, 2023. The stock has risen 155% in the last four and half months from its 52-week low levels. In the last one year, DLF shares gained 32.5%, while it rose 34% in the calendar year 2023. While the largecap stock jumped 46% in six months period, it added over 3% in a month and 5% in a week.

DLF released its first quarter earnings report on July 21, which showed that its consolidated net profit grew 12.2% to ₹527 crore as compared to ₹470 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year. The consolidated revenue fell by 1% to ₹1,423 crore in Q1FY24 as against ₹1,441 crore a year ago. Sequentially, the company reported 8% drop in profit and 2% fall in revenue from March 2023 quarter.

On the operating front, EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) stood at ₹396 crore in Q1FY24, down 4% year-on-year. The EBITDA margins dropped to 27.8% as against 28.6% in the same period last fiscal.

The company said that its new sales bookings for the quarter stood at ₹2,040 crore, whereas its launched inventory continues to witness healthy traction from customers. “We are experiencing strong demand for our new office developments. We have achieved pre-leasing of approximately 82% across our two new office complexes – DLF Downtown in Gurugram and Chennai,” the company said in its earnings release.

Besides, DLF also announced its entry into the Mumbai real estate market through its subsidiary DLF Home Developers.

“With a strong pipeline of new launches planned for this fiscal and a strong rental portfolio, we remain confident of delivering consistent and profitable growth across our businesses,” it added.

DLF Home Developers has signed a securities subscription and shareholders’ agreement, under which its arm Pegeen Builders and Developers would allot 9,800 equity shares at par to Trident. As a result, DHDL will now hold 51% equity share capital of Pegeen. 

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