Mohit Goel, CEO, Omaxe Ltd has made some big infrastructural changes in Omaxe , ever since he took the charge as the CEO. Goel has started it all form the scratch, while joining the firm as an Executive, he got to know about all the thick and thins of the real estate business, like construction, sales & marketing, business development etc. This has further facilitated him with quick decision making process, an important attribute for being an effective leader. This is where Mohit Goel has led the company with all the great vision through various phases.
Omaxe Ltd comes as one of India’s leading real estate companies. Whilst having its presence in 8 States across 27 cities, the company comes with a diversified portfolio under their belt, including Integrated Townships, Hi-Tech Townships, Group Housing, Shopping Malls, Office Spaces, SCOs and Hotel. The company has approx. 95 million sq. ft. of offered space in both real estate and construction business. As of now, the company is taking care of 39 real estate projects – 13 Group Housing, 16 Townships, 10 Commercial Malls/office spaces/Hotels/ SCOs. Standing true to its belief, “Turning Dreams into Reality”, Omaxe still goes by its values — values to deliver quality and efficient real estate spaces in the most redefined styles, to further satisfy their customer needs.
While being in a conversation with Yash Ved of IIFL, Mohit Goel, CEO of Omaxe ltd, said, “The total area under development stands at 74 million sq. ft. spread across 27 cities and 8 States like UP, MP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Punjab.”
Brief us about the Operational Highlights for Q4FY15?
In FY15, the Company reported a Consolidated Income from Operations of Rs 1431.09 crores and Consolidated Net Profit of Rs 60.07 crore. For the quarter ended March 31st 2015, the company reported a Consolidated Income from Operations of Rs 413.65 crores and Consolidated Net Profit stood at Rs. 20.24 crores.
How was the response for Lucknow, New Chandigarh and Ludhiana projects?
Lucknow, New Chandigarh and Ludhiana are extremely important markets for us and we have successfully launched and delivered a variety of projects in FY15. In Lucknow, we have already delivered Omaxe Residency in Gomti Nagar Extn. And the response has been phenomenal. Phase 1 (plots and Silver Birch) have been delivered in Omaxe New Chandigarh and a state-of-the-art club “Club Aura” is almost ready and have drawn huge praise from visitors.
The response, both from existing customers and new ones, in all our projects have been overwhelming. Besides, Infrastructure is fast developing in these cities. Gomti Nagar Extension is becoming a hot spot in lucknow. We are trying to expand our project in Pakhowal Road in Ludhiana which has seen good appreciation in the last few years. In these cities alone we have sold over 1.5 million sq. ft. in FY15. We shall continue to launch new products even in cities like Faridabad, Bahadurgarh, Vrindavan etc. which considerably contributed in FY15.
What is the total area under development?
The total area under development stands at 74 million sq. ft. spread across 27 cities and 8 States like UP, MP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttarakhand and Punjab.
What are your new project launches?
We have launched group housing and floors in Omaxe New Chandigarh, commercial space and group housing in Lucknow, group housing in Noida, group housing and plots in Omaxe Eternity, Vrindavan and commercial space and group housing in Faridabad, commercial space in Indore to name a few. We shall continue to expand these projects and add newer offerings.
Do you expect strong demand in residential segment?
There exists huge demand for affordable residential space but supply is lacking in this product category due to several external factors that have it unaffordable, especially in metro cities. Tier II and III cities continue to drive demand in this segment.
Overall, homebuyers are waiting for right economic environment – rise in income growth, softening interest rate, sentiment boost – to return to the market and start purchase. The profits and sales figure of real estate companies in FY15 clearly signal slowdown. Government intervention across all sectors is extremely important at this stage to give a boost to housing and commercial space due to the interlinking nature of these industries.
What is your sales target for FY16?
If present market scenario continues through FY16 and government doesn’t intervene, it is difficult to predict what sales target we will achieve but we hope to maintain FY15 levels.
Any plans to sell Non-core Lands?
We have already done a few non-core land sales in FY15 and if good opportunity arises, we shall look into it.
What is your current debt?
We are comfortably placed at approx Rs. 850 crores of net debt.
Your outlook on real estate prices?
Prices in metro cities have softened in the last 1-2 years and we could see further softening if economic scenario doesn’t improve for good. Interest rate is high and credit availability is low. Fear of poor monsoon and rising global crude oil prices could damper economic scenario further. Quick and effective Government intervention and proactive approach of banks and RBI is needed across all sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing, real estate and agriculture in order to spur demand and drive the economy.