DLF Q3 profit jumps 37% on account of reduced costs and stable demand

Indian real estate developer DLF Ltd reported a nearly 37% rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by a fall in expenses and rising demand for various housing projects.

New Delhi-based DLF, India's biggest real estate company by market capitalisation, posted a consolidated net profit of 5.19 billion rupees ($63.62 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 3.79 billion rupees a year ago.

Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 5.73 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Real estate demand in the country has remained strong despite repeated interest rate hikes by the central bank, as a rising middle class has been buying houses, and many commercial projects are back on track for completion after a covid-induced pause.

The real estate developer's projects in the Delhi-NCR region, including Gurugram, benefitted from the region's housing price hikes over the last few quarters, analysts have said.

DLF's expenses in the quarter fell almost 5% to 11.52 billion rupees and revenue stood at 14.95 billion rupees, down nearly 4% from a year ago.

Rival Macrotech Developers reported a 41.4% increase in quarterly profit on Tuesday.

Shares of DLF closed at 352.05 rupees on Wednesday, down over 6% so far this year.

($1 = 81.5780 Indian rupees)