India's Sobha says Q1 profit doubles on strong demand for houses

BENGALURU, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Indian real estate developer Sobha Ltd (SOBH.NS) on Monday said its June quarter profit more-than-doubled as demand in the country stayed resilient, with more people booking flats and houses in big cities and towns.

The Bengaluru-headquartered companys consolidated net profit rose to 120.5 million rupees ($1.46 million) for the three months ended June 30.

Sobha said last month it had achieved its highest ever quarterly sales value of 14.65 billion rupees, citing a record average price realization during the quarter which stood at 10,506 per square feet, up 24.6% on year on year basis.

Revenue from operations at the company rose over 60%, led by a similar spike in its real estate segment. Sobha also has a contractual and manufacturing segment, which posted a rise of 38%.

Bangalore, Sobhas home market, contributed to 54% of total sale value, the company addded.

\“Preference for larger homes is an established trend now, due to requirement of additional office space to cater to hybrid model of working from office and homes. This was spotted early on and catered to by Sobha,\” the real estate company said.

Rapid urbanisation and a lack of public amenities in many places have triggered a desire for many city dwellers to upgrade to accommodations with better amenities. Builders are also seeing a rise in first time home purchases, contributing to sustained demand despite higher mortgage and loan interest rates.

Shares of Sobha closed 1.2% up on Monday ahead of the results. Sobha gained 24.7% in the June-quarter, underperforming the 34.3% gain in the broader Nifty realty index (.NIFTYREAL)

($1 = 82.7270 Indian rupees)