Sri Lotus Developers and Realty Limited (LOTUSDEV) Q2 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Shreelotus Developers and Realty Limited's Q2FY27 Earnings Conference Call. Before we begin, I would like to remind participants that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company, which are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as on date of this call. These statements are not guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a reminder, all participant clients will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. With this, I now hand the conference over to Mr. Anand Pandit, Managing Director and Chairman of Shree Lotus Developers and Realty Ltd. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Good morning, everyone, and a very warm welcome to the Q2 and H1 FY27 earnings call of Shreelotos Developers and Reality Limited. Joining me today are our CEO, Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jain, our CFO, Mr. Rakesh Gupta, and our Investor Relations Advisors from SGA. Our investor presentation has been uploaded to the stock exchanges and our website, and we hope you have had a chance to go through it. Let me begin with a brief update on the real estate market. Mumbai remains India's largest housing market with sales in the first nine months of calendar 2026 at their highest since 2018, and the luxury segment continues to lead. In the first half of the calendar year, sales of homes priced above 10 crore reached a record of over Rs. 18,500 While prime residential prices rose 6.2% year-on-year, more than twice the global average. Demand is driven largely by end-users upgrading to larger homes in better locations. While scarce land in prime micro-markets makes redevelopment the principal route to new supply, Precisely well, Lotus has built its capability. Before I begin with the business update, a word on interest rates. Earlier this month, RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%. It's first increase since early 2023. While this is likely to weigh on affordable and mid-income housing, the luxury segment is far less sensitive to borrowing costs. Our buyers rely far less on home loans and buy for long-term value and lifestyle. We therefore do not expect it to materially alter demand in the micromarkets we operate in. Turning to our performance, Q2 FY27 completes a strong first half for Lotus. Delighted to share that we recorded pre-sales for the quarter at Rs. 470 crores, up 83% year-on-year. For H1 FY27, pre-sales stood at Rs. 879 crores, up 176% year-on-year. Our growth has not come at the cost of profitability. In Q2, total revenue rose 53% year-on-year to Rs.269 crores. EBITDA more than doubled to Rs.107 crores with margins expanding to 39.9%. For the first half, revenue stood at Rs. 401 crores, up 69%, EBITDA at Rs. 155 crores, up 95%, and BED at Rs. 134 crores, up 86%, at an improved BED margin of 33.5%. Collections stood at Rs60 for the quarter and Rs209 for the first half. Collections in our business are linked to construction milestones and can vary from quarter to quarter. As our ongoing project, progress, and recent launches reach their billing milestones, we expect collection to pick up over the coming quarters. Our recent launches continue to perform well. Lotus Trident in Anderi West, our luxury commercial offering, has been a standout performer, contributing pre-sales of Rs. 178 crore in its first full quarter since its launch at the end of June. Its success shows how well the Lotus brand travels beyond ultra-luxury residential into luxury commercial real estate. We also made significant progress on business development during the quarter. Three new projects added, Lotus Empresa at Shivaji Park in Dada West, Lotus Teller in Varsova and Lotus Supremus in Johu, which adds Rs. 2700 to 2800 crores of GDB to existing GDB pipeline. These additions deepen our presence in Juhu and Varsova, where we have a strong track record, and extend our footprint to Shivaji Park, one of Central Mumbai's most established residential neighborhoods. With this addition, our ongoing and upcoming pipeline now comprises 24 projects with an aggregate GDV of approximately Rs. 20,000 crores, of which 19 are redevelopment-led. Looking ahead, we are well prepared for the second half. We plan to launch four projects, Lotus Aurelia, Lotus Sky Plaza, Lotus Portofino, and Lotus Odyssey, with a combined estimated GDP of Rs. 3,500 to 4,000 crores. Together with the momentum from our recent launches and a growing pipeline, we remain confident of delivering our FY27 guideline of pre-sales in the range of Rs. 1800 to 2,000 crores, along with revenue and pad growth of 55% to 60% over FY26 levels. We also remain confident of sustaining strong profitability with EBITDA and bet margin expected at 35-40% and 25-30% respectively. Behind these numbers is a simple operating philosophy. We select projects on the strength of their location and margins, not their scale, and we oversee every stage of a development ourselves from design and construction to sales and customer engagement. This is what enables us to deliver consistently strong margins, and the credibility we have built with housing societies and development partners continues to open up new redevelopment opportunities for us, as reflected in the three editions in this quarter. With that, I will now hand over the call to Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jain, our CEO, to take you through the financial highlights in more detail. Thank you.

Thank you, Anansar. Good morning, everyone. Let me now take you through our financial performance for Q2 and H1 F527, which reflects strong business momentum, significant growth in profitability, and continued progress in expanding our development portfolio. Let me begin with our business performance and growth outlook. Lotus Trident in Nandiri West delivered free sale of 178 crore due to marking its first full quarter since launch. Lotus Aquaria in Prabhadevi continue to witness healthy inquiry level. During the quarter, we further strengthen our development pipeline by adding three new projects at Shivaji Park, the other west, second in Varsova, and in Jou. Together, these additions represent an estimated GDV of 2,700 crore, approximately. Looking ahead, we plan to launch four projects in H2 FY27, Lotus Sky Plaza, Lotus Protofino, Lotus Orilla, and Lotus Odyssey, with a combined estimated GDV of 3,500 to 4,000 crores. These additions provide us with a strong pipeline of future opportunity and reinforce our focus on expanding our portfolio and creating long-term value. Coming to our financial performance, Q2FI27 delivered strong growth across our key financial parameter. Pre-sales grew 83% year-on-year to 470 crores, compared with 257 crores in corresponding quarter last year. Total revenue increased 53% to 269 crore, while EBITDA more than doubled, growing 113% to 107 crore from Rs. 50 crore. Our EBITDA margin remained healthy at 39.90%. Profit after tax grew 91% to 89 crore compared with 46 crores in Q2 FY26. The combination of strong revenue growth, substantial EBITDA expansion, and higher profitability demonstrates the strength of our operating performance. Turning to H1 F1's reflex and even stronger growth trajectory, pre-sale increased 176% year-on-year to 879 crore compared with 319 crore in H1 F1 2026. Total revenue grew 69% to 401 crores, EBITDA increased 95% to 155 crores, with a healthy margin of 38.80%. Profit after tax rose 86%, compared with 72 crores in corresponding period last year. Overall, these numbers demonstrate strong momentum across sales, revenue, and profitability, providing a solid foundation for the next phase of our growth. Moving to our balance sheet, maintaining financial strength and flexibility remain a key priority. As of 30 September 2026, we had a net cash position of 494 crores. These provide us with a financial flexibility to fund our ongoing projects, support upcoming launches, and pursue new development opportunities, while maintaining a disciplined capital structure. In addition, our estimated project-level surplus stands at approximately 9,500 crore over the development cycle of our portfolio. This represents significant potential value from our projects, subject to the project evaluation, realization, cost, and other relevant assumptions. It is important to distinguish these projected project-level surplus or accounting profits. On capital deployment, we remain committed to discipline and transparent utilization of funds. We raised approximately 792 per To conclude, H1 FY27 has been a strong period for the company. We have delivered 176% growth in BCR, nearly double our EBITDA, significantly increase our profitability and maintain a net cash position. With four planned projects launched in H2FI-27, strengthen development pipeline, a disciplined approach to capital deployment, we are focused on sustaining our growth momentum, exhibiting our projects efficiently, and delivering long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I would like to open the floor for Christian. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use answers 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 Ankit S. Mehta from Roha Wellworth Securities, Private Limited. Please go ahead.

Good morning, sir.

I have a couple of questions. So first, how are we seeing the luxury market evolve? And how are we positioned in this market for the future? And the second is that we have been continuously registering margins upward of 35%. So, how sustainable are they, especially when we are in expansion mode?

Hi, Ankit. This is Anand Pandit. Good question. First of all, luxury market is growing every day, actually. Everyone wants to, and it's evolving with socio-economic change in people's life, things are changing, even with real estate also. So, everyone wants to move to a better home, new home with a larger home, good facility, good amenity. So, this luxury market, which was, I would say, very limited, it's now growing. And we are getting that advantage of the growing market. As far as margins are concerned, as I have mentioned earlier, we are a net debt-free company. So, we don't have to pay or we don't have to have any burden of interest. Second, till today, we have not done any marketing expenses, very limited awareness campaign we did. So, that is where we don't spend much money on that. Third is, our project cycle is very fast. We generally complete all the projects in two and a half to three and a half years between that. So because of that, our deployment of fund is very efficient, and that gives us a great sales velocity. So I feel combination, and also we have got better pricing, you know, premium pricing policy. So, all these five contributes to good EBITDA margin and pet margin both, and I am sure that this will continue.

That was awesome, my sir. Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

The next question is from the line of Deepamani from Choice Broking. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. So, first of all, I'd like to congratulate the team for a great set of numbers and very good margins. So, I just have one question. So, you know, commercial projects seem to be getting stronger traction right now. And what realistic margins are you seeing at Redent? And what do you think about will commercial redevelopment become a bigger part of the pipeline going forward?

So, yes, there is a good moment for commercial properties, and we have a very balanced portfolio of commercial. Right now, in our portfolio, we have got about five projects of commercial, and commercial has got good, I would say, good margins, sustainable margins. And I think we are the only one right now in the suburbs who has completed redevelopment in commercial space. And we have delivered that last year. It's called Arc 1. And now we have taken about two to three projects of redevelopment in commercial space also. And I'm sure the margins will be good on that also.

Okay, got it, sir. And what about the realizations and margins in Trident?

So, margin in the Trident will be in the similar line because it will be like our added margin of beta 33 to 35%. It will depend on the same.

Okay, got it, sir. That's all from me, sir. Thank you.

The next question is from the line of Siddharth S. From Nafa Asset Manager, please go ahead. Siddharth Hurt, can you unmute your line, please?

Am I audible?

Yes, you're audible.

Yes, yeah, yeah. Congrats on the great set of numbers, and my query is on the collections, and the market and the, you know, overall expectation was that the collections would materialize this year, and since the milestone day is middling, I just want to understand a better picture on it in terms of, you know, how exactly the collections will catch up, because the headline numbers all look great, but I think that's the only point of concern, I, and in general, you know, the markets are seeing in the sense. So, if you just explain your project cycle better and how do you expect the collections to pan out going forward, that will be really helpful.

Good morning, Shudat. Regarding the collection, what happened, our three, four projects that are already launched that are mostly in the basement level. And you know that all the payment plan is construction laying. So normally when the project launched, normally the collection will be 5 to 10 percent. Once that it reaches the plink level, it is approximately 25 percent. So, if you see that this number is the 800 crore, this half-yearly, our PCL is there, and out of 800 crore, we have collected 200 crore, so that nearly 25% of the collection we have done that. So, from the next half yearly, we are confident we will get the good collection because out of three projects, two projects will be out from the basement and the collection will be improved.

Understood, understood. So, to get a better clarity on this, you know, pre-listing your, you know, collections as a percentage of pre-sales in F523 was in the range of 97.5 and in 2014 it was 92.8. And on the year of FY25, it was very healthy at 75.1. So, what do you expect collections as a person of pre-sales to be going forward? That could give me and protect me with a lot of clarity.

So, Sridhar, it is depending on which stage the project is there. In the last year and in the 24-25 also, some of the project is on the completion stage. So, at the time of the completion, is the collection always with the 90%, 95% is the view. So, that's reflecting the balance sheet. The same will be, you will see that once the project will be completed, so next year, we are aiming the three projects will be completed. Then, these three projects, you will see the collection will be the 95%, 200%.

Okay, okay. Understood. Congrats and wish you all the best and looking forward to connect with Max.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mohit Sorana from Monarch Network Capital Limited. Please go ahead.

Sir, congratulations on the great set of numbers. You have been keep on outperforming the numbers every quarter. Sir, just one question more from a medium term perspective. We understand FI27, there are guidance, you are well on track to meet that guidance, but slightly longer period, FI28, FI29, do you see the similar kind of growth that you are, you know, achieving in FI27, you'll be able to maintain same kind of growth in FI28 and FI29? Some color on that will be really helpful.

Good morning, Mohit. This is Anjay Jan. Regarding that, we have given every financial year at the beginning, we are giving the guidance for that financial year. But whatever the projects we have in hand, we have given the guidance. So, if you see in the presentation, so approximately we have the GDP of 20,000 crore and out of 20,000… So, approximately 20,000 crore ZDV we have in hand, and from the project level, the surplus will be around 9,500 crore, and our intention to complete these projects for next four and a half years. So, you can calculate that.

Understood, sir. That answers my question. Thank you. Congratulations, sir, once again, and wish you all the best.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rahel Bhora from Vyom Partners LLP, Collicat Family Office. Please go ahead.

Hello, sir. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity. I was comparing the two PPTs, which was last quarter versus this quarter. In the upcoming projects, a lot of timelines have been shifted further for a lot of projects, and they've been shifted for like one-one year. So, if you could just please throw some light on me.

So, hi Ryle, good morning. Regarding this timeline, because this is the continuous process and there is some regulatory and the approval is required. So, in the two projects, we have shifted the timeline. One is the Lotus Monarch, we have shifted for one year because of the three, four parties One is the society, one is the trust, and third is the charity commissioner, and fourth is the government. So, we have given the conservative. We hope that we can start before that also. So, major one, and second is in the Gardkoper, the Salona, we have extended the line. So, other projects are in the same timeline, and in this process also, we are adding some new projects, So, that will be replaced by these. So, our guidance and that will be in the future will be remain safe.

Got it, sir. Thank you so much. My second question is regarding your Gip City project. If you could just throw some more light on what kind of projects we are developing there because it's written mixed use. So, I believe it's going to be residential plus commercial. If you could just throw some light on the Gip City project, sir.

Sure. It's a five and a half acre land parcel, which is right sitting on the river Sabarmati. It's in gift area. Recently, gift authority has acquired, in a way, 300 acres, and this plot is a part of that. This will be an ownership land only, and GIF City would be planning authority in this. So we are expecting that as soon as town planning scheme is declared, we will get approval for mixed use. When I say mixed use, it would be commercial, retail, residential, all three components. And according to our calculation, approximately about 1.3 to 1.5 million square feet of space we'll be able to make there.

Got it, sir. On the last question, sir, on Amara and Athena, could you just give us some update as to where the construction is and because they are stated to get completed this financial year. So, if you could just update us on Amara and Athena project.

Hi. So, in the Amara, we have completed the RCC, and we hope that this quarter, we will get the OC. Otherwise, this financial year, definitely as predicted, we will get the OC. Athena also, we are in the RCC stage, and we are hopefully that before March, we will get the OC in the Athena.

Okay, thank you so much, sir. Best of luck.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Prabhal Gandhi from Incred Asset Management Company. Please go ahead.

Hi, am I audible?

Yeah, yeah, Prabhal.

Hi, sir. Good morning. So, first of all, congratulations on the business traction that we saw in Andhari commercial property. Within a quarter, we have been able to do a pre-sales of 30%. So, congratulations on that. My question is on the Prabhadevi launch that we had last quarter. In the pre-sales breakup, it seems that Prabhadevi has not contributed anything, and this is a JDB of 800 crores. So, how should we read this number?

Hi, Prabha. So, it is always in the real estate. Prabha Devi, we have gone for the new micro market, and we are doing the small marketing for the Prabha Devi project. We are getting very good inquiry, and so maybe you will see the result in the next two quarters in the Prabha Devi. If you see the other projects in the Celestia, that is, within six months of launch, we have got the 36% sales, and the Tident also, within three months, 35% overall sales, we have got that.

Any pushbacks that we are receiving and providing that we are trying to address?

No, no. No, no, no push-back or nothing. Not at all.

I mean, for us, it's a new micro-market. Second, we are sitting tight on what our expectation is, because this is a very, very unique project, which has got almost 270 degree of direct sea view, And our pricing is a little more premium pricing. This is going to be one of unique art deco building and with the height of approximately 200 meters. So, we are expecting that we will have good clientele there. And as soon as we are completed with wing, then we will be getting more traction on it.

You mentioned that next year we are seeing three projects which will be completed of this year and for FI 28.

Next year we will be able to tell...

Sorry sir, but your voice is...

Okay, so I was saying that for the next year guidance or next year number, we will be updating from the beginning of the year. So right now it's not a good time.

Okay, and for the H2 of this year? My question was because we have a net cash of 500-odd crores, and in the first half of this year, we consumed 300

crores to do business development.

So, will there be a situation where our collections are pulling back on the business addition?

So, what happened, for the new development, it is not like that we required much bank balance. Because normally, to start the new project, we required only 8 to 10% of the project cost. But in this quarter, what we have decided that we have to pay the upfront piece to the government to save the cost and also to get the discount for the supplier also. So that was because the cash balance was there. So we have to use that fund efficiently. We have done that. So, we have the sufficient cash balance available for the new project, and we don't see any stress on that.

Understood. And any timelines on when we can expect OCF to be positive for us, operating cash flows to be positive for us?

Again, it depends on what kind of project launch is in that particular quarter of financial year we are doing. So, since we are in a very growing state, then lots of projects are coming for construction. So, it will be maybe not exactly clear that we will be having OCS positive, but for existing projects, there will be high elections next year, as they are at a later stage of completion, while the same, when launching new projects, there will be more consumption of cash flow. So, it will be a net effect. But we have a good balance in books, and we don't see any kind of efficiency or anything in that.

Well, well, in addition to that, it is always the project-wise. So, if there is one project, Arcadian, so it will get the working capital positive immediately, because already this is the basement is completed, and now it is on the eighth or ninth slab. So, project-wise, yes, but overall, maybe we cannot give that, but if you want, we can give that project-wise, the cash-positive, and we will not cash-positive.

Again, you know, just congratulating for the cap table. So, with Capital Group coming in, I am sure that the cap table has improved. So, congratulations on that. Thank you, and all the best.

Thank you.

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Harsh Patak from Motilal, Oosfal Financial Services Limited. Please go ahead.

Yeah, hi, Anandji and team, and congratulations for the strong pre-sales performance for the quarter. So, my first question is on the pricing front. What kind of price appreciation are we seeing on our existing projects? And what would be, you know, the strategy on, you know, the pricing for our upcoming projects for H2?

So, pricing for every project is different, as you know. It depends on which kind of project, where we have, which micro market, and who are the competitors. But as we progress with our construction phase, Yes, price, and if market is supporting, which I anticipate, prices will definitely go up from here.

Understood. So, have we seen some of our projects seeing that kind of price appreciation so far in the first half?

Almost all the projects, I would say. All the projects.

Understood. So, my next question is on the approvals front. Where are we on the approval side for all the four projects for H2?

We are more or less, 90% approvals are in place right now. So, we are very confident that in H2, that four projects will be able to launch.

Understood. So, my last question is on the project edition front. So, we have done, you know, commendable activity on the new project editions. How do we see the forthcoming additions? Are we expecting any sizable additions this year? And do we have any plans in place for the next two years as well?

So, as you know, this is going to be a continuous process. Right now, we are in talks with a couple of societies already. Some we are shortlisted also. So, every quarter, yes, we will be adding some projects.

Understood, sir. Thanks a lot for taking my questions, and best wishes. Thank you.

Thank you. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand over the conference to the management for closing remarks.

Thank you all for joining us today. The first half of FY27 has laid a strong foundation for the year. Three sales of Rs.879 crores, EBITDA margin of nearly 40%, a successful entry into luxury commercial with Lotus Trident, and three new projects added to our pipeline. As we move into the second half, our priorities are very clear. Delivering our four planned launches on schedule and progressing construction across our ongoing developments so that collections keep pace with the sales. Demand in Mumbai's ultra-luxury segment remains anchored by end users rather than by financing. And with a net debt-free balance sheet, we are well-placed to keep adding the right redevelopment opportunities without stretching ourselves. We appreciate the continued interest and support of our investors. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch with SGA, our Investor Relations Advisors. Thank you and have a great day.

Thank you. On behalf of Shree Lotus Developers and Realty Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines.