New Delhi: Higher sales and better price realisation helped real estate firm Unitech Ltd to record a 39 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 525.78 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, as against Rs 377.84 crore in the year-ago period.

The total income during the third quarter of the current fiscal rose 19 per cent at Rs 1,165.11 crore. For the nine-month period ended December 31, the consolidated total income stood at Rs 3,129.04 crore while net profit was Rs 1,301.58 crore. "Higher sales, better price realisation and strong project execution have resulted in a robust financial performance during the period. With many projects in the pipeline, we expect this strong performance to continue," Unitech Ltd Managing Director Sanjay Chandra said.

The housing segment contributed about 80-85 per cent in the company's topline and bottomline, he said, adding that the national capital region had a major share in the firm's growth. Chandra said the Unitech's standalone profit declined because of sales transaction made to subsidiaries, but added that it would be offset when the company launches its office trust in Singapore.

On a standalone basis, Unitech posted 18.44 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 368.92 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2007, against Rs 452.38 crore for the same quarter in 2006. Net sales of the company dipped 18.37 per cent to Rs 818.51 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared to Rs 1,002.74 crore for the corresponding quarter last year, Unitech said in a filing to National Stock Exchange.

Source : PTI