DLF's Rental Arm DCCDL Getting REIT Ready

Realty major DLF's arm DCCDL, which holds bulk of its office and rental assets, has reported a 3 per cent increase in net debt at Rs 19,640 crore during the September quarter due to higher capex.  DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL) is a joint venture between DLF Ltd and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. DLF has nearly 67 per cent stake in the JV firm, while GIC has the remaining. The net debt of DCCDL rose to Rs 19,640 crore as on September 30, 2021 from Rs 19,072 crore at the end of the first quarter of this fiscal year. DCCDL's 58 per funding is from banks and around 78 per cent of scheduled repayment is greater than 3 years. The latest debt has been raised at sub 7 per cent interest rates. "Debt levels to hold in the short term; expected significant reduction post REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) listing," DCCDL said, adding "progress on getting DCCDL REIT ready remains on track." In June, DLF said that its rental arm DCCDL would be completely ready in the next one year for the launch of REIT, but the timing of the public issue would be decided by the two JV partners based on market conditions. DCCDL has rent-yielding commercial assets (office and retail) of around 35 million sq ft, with about Rs 3,500 crore annual rental income.  It is currently constructing 4.5 million square feet of office buildings in Gurugram and Chennai, leading to higher capital expenditure. Talking about operations of rental business, DCCDL said the rent collections remained steady and the long-term outlook remains positive. On the office market front, it said that sentiments have improved post the second wave of COVID pandemic. Collections remain robust at 100 per cent. Office attendance is still low and impacting sentiments. On retail assets, DCCDL said that all malls are operational. Consumption and footfall levels continue to witness steep recovery. International Luxury brands continue to outperform. DCCDL'S revenue grew by 8 per cent at Rs 1,123 crore while the net profit increased 36 per cent to Rs 231 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal year.  This deal included sale of 33.34 per cent stake in DCCDL to GIC for about Rs 9,000 crore and buyback of remaining shares worth about Rs 3,000 crore by the DCCDL. DLF has so far developed 153 real estate projects and developed an area of approximately 330 million square feet.  The company currently has 215 million square feet of development potential across residential and commercial segments. The group has an annuity portfolio of over 35 million square feet.