Raymond Realty Ltd

MR. BIPLAB DEBBARMA – ANTIQUE STOCK BROKING LIMITED

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Raymond Realty Limited Q3 FY26 and 9M FY26 Earnings Conference Call hosted by Antique Stock Broking Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines 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 this conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone.

Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr.

Biplab Debbarma from Antique Stock Broking Limited. Thank you and over to you, sir.

Thank you. So, on behalf of Antique Stock Broking Limited, I would like to welcome all the participants in the Q3 FY26 & 9M FY26 Conference Call of Raymond Realty Limited. Today, we have with us from Senior Management of Raymond Realty Ltd., Mr. Rakesh Tiwary, Group CFO, Mr. Harmohan Sahni, MD & CEO, Mr. Ankur Jindal, CFO, and Mr. Sunny Desa, Head, Investor Relations.

Without taking further time, I would like to hand over the call to Mr. Harmohan Sahni. Over to you, sir.

Thank you, Biplab. Good evening, everyone. I will make some opening remarks and then we will open the floor for questions. So, first of all, thank you for joining us today for Q3 and nine-months Financial Year ‘26 Results Conference Call. I hope that you all had an opportunity to go through our financial results and investor presentation. It has been uploaded on stock exchanges as well as on the company website. So, you will get an opportunity to have a look at it later also.

Moving ahead, I would like to spend some time on broader macroeconomic landscape, which influenced our performance and some of the decisions that we took during the quarter. So, a quick overview of the broader macroeconomic environment that shaped both our performance and the industry landscape. The sector continued its upward trajectory during the quarter in consideration, which is Q3, marking almost three years of sustained growth.

The markets remained robust and they were supported by two key tailwinds. The first is, of course, the monetary environment, which remains quite accommodative. Reserve Bank of India reduced the repo rate further by 25 basis points to 5.25%. And this provides a very stable macroeconomic background in which we operate. So, this move itself has further improved home loan affordability.

How it helps us is not just in terms of affordability, but also in terms of buyer sentiment, which is a better indicator, I would say, because people would make big-ticket purchases only when they feel good about the future and very, very hopeful. So, positive buyer sentiment is one key underlying theme which has remained strong. And it continues to stimulate the demand across residential segments.

And the second part of this was the domestic consumption, which also helped form. Despite the global uncertainties which continue to weigh on exports and some of the other sectors like FMCG, which are bearing the brunt of that, but large-ticket purchases in particular, housing and automobiles, they have remained resilient. And it just shows that the India's strong

economic fundamentals and the domestic consumption story is holding as far as large-ticket purchases are concerned.

The disposable incomes are clearly rising and a large share of the wallet of this is going towards cars and homes. So, this consumption trend has provided a solid foundation for our real estate demand. And we, as Raymond Realty, have also been beneficiary of that. We also witnessed a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour.

Homebuyers are now placing premium on quality, transparency and reliability. And there is clearly a decisive flight to quality. And that's why you see established and branded developers cornering a very large share of the market. So, this evolution is redefining industry competition and highlighting the critical value of proven execution and brand reputation. And that's where we also continue to focus on building everything before time with very high quality and continuing to deliver on the brand promise that we put into the market.

Now, if we zoom into Bombay or Mumbai as it is known, the city's property market continued to demonstrate strength through Q3 on the whole. While October saw a temporary dip in registration, there was a significant fall, almost 14% year on year. But that was also because of the high base effect from the previous year's festive season which was there, which was early last year. Diwali and some of the other events happened earlier.

But if you see the rest of the quarter, November, December, the total property registrations in Bombay for the entire quarter exceeded 36,000 units. And it set a new record of one and a half lakh registrations for the full calendar year 2025. That has been the highest in the 14 years that we have seen. So, clearly, the surge in demand which came in two months is not just for those two months, it's for the entire year.

If you see, there is a secular trend which indicates there is an upsurge, continuing upsurge rather. So, this performance clearly reflects a continued end-user demand, particularly in premium home segments. And it signals an enduring buyer confidence in Bombay's dynamic real estate market, and particularly backed by good, strong corporate players.

So, this sustained momentum basically underscores deep-rooted buyer confidence that we have been seeing for the last three years. And there is clearly a healthy appetite for home ownership in Mumbai. So, as we move into FY ‘27, Mumbai's property market seems well-positioned to benefit from all these favourable tailwinds which are there.

Now, zooming into our financial performance for the quarter and nine months, what has it been like? So, we are pleased to report that Q3 FY ‘26 and nine months FY ‘26 performance has exceeded our internal benchmarks and the budgets that we had, which signals a very powerful evolution in our business model.

The key factor in this is, how much share of our business comes from our legacy land, Thana, and how much of it comes from the new deals that we have signed, which is the JDA projects that we have done as its life model. So, in this quarter, this was a defining moment for us with the launch of our second JDA project in Invictus by GS in BKC. So, with that, in Bandra East, we have two JDA projects which are running.

The second project also received an overwhelming market reception, just like the first one, and it confirms our brand acceptance and secures a substantial revenue potential of over INR2,000 crores just from this single project. So, we are quite aggressively transitioning towards a high- efficiency asset-light JDA model.

By FY ‘28, I think we will definitely be 50% of our annual pre-sales will be coming from the JDA, which will be a shift from, if you look at FY ‘25 numbers, over 22% of our pre-sale number came from JDA, and from there, within two and a half, three years, we will be jumping to 50%. So, that will be a significant landmark for us. So, this strategy will optimize capital allocation while drastically scaling our market footprint.

So, with very little capital deployment, we would be cornering a large share of the market. So, our financial trajectory is characterized by surging growth and disciplined execution. So, our booking value, if you look at in Q3, surged to INR743 crores, which is a 47% year-on-year increase from the corresponding period last year, which was INR505 crores. And, that displays the kind of trust the brand has created in a short period of time in the minds of consumers.

Our total income reached INR766 crores for the quarter, which is again a 56% year-on-year growth. If you look at nine-month numbers, nine-month momentum continued with year-to- date booking value of INR1,504 crores. And, the total income, which we have reported is INR1,864 crores.

So, our cash flow and margins have maintained a healthy operational discipline with INR1,210 crores of customer collections done in nine months and our EBITDA margins remaining a steady 13%. We maintain a lean financial profile with a modest net debt of only INR230 crores as of December 31, 2025. So, all this displays a lot of financial discipline that we follow and the rigor that we have in all our decisions that we make.

To top it all, execution remains the hallmark of our company. We continue to outpace construction timelines across both Thana and Bandra, ensuring high quality, timely delivery that protects all our investors' and customers' returns. Our current portfolio of all the projects put together represents a INR40,000 crores revenue potential.

It is broadly split between 100 acres of Thana land parcel, which has a INR25,000 crores revenue potential on current prices, out of which 55 acres is currently under development with a 13,200 crores of development value. Now, out of this 13,200 crores development value, we have already sold INR8,500 crores and collected INR6,700 crores worth of stock.

So, that again is a testimony of our fast-paced execution that we have displayed. And apart from that, the other engine that we have is the JDAs that we have signed, the six JDAs that we have done, which has a revenue potential of approximately INR14,000 crores. Out of these six

JDAs, two have already been launched up to nine months of the current year, and the other two are expected to be launched in Q4 FY ‘26. That will leave us two more JDAs, which will be launched subsequently in the following 12 to 15 months.

So, there is a robust pipeline of new projects coming through, both in Thana as well as non- Thana through the JDA model, and which will continue to give us the growth that we have promised to the markets, which brings me to the growth outlook. So, we are entering Q4 with immense momentum, a solid execution that we have done for the first three months in terms of construction as well as getting approvals and getting projects ready, which gives us a lot of heart and our build fast, sell fast strategy is firing on all cylinders.

So, our Q4 launch pipeline looks very, very exciting and healthy. So, you will definitely see four major launches from us. Two of these launches will be the JDA projects, which will be outside the Thana market. We are talking about Wadala and Sion, these two locations will be launched. And we will additionally launch two more projects in Thana.

And one of these projects is addressing the heart of the market, which is a two bedroom community that we are creating. And another project that we are launching will be a high margin project that we will launch, which is the retail project. Now, this will not only give us the required growth that we have targeted for the year, it will also help us achieve the revenue numbers and also the margin profile that we have promised to the market.

It will be driven by our scalable asset light model, certainly. So, that strategy continues. So, now with a robust pipeline and continued dynamism that we have seen in the MMR market, particularly Mumbai, we are on a definite track to meet our entire full year guidance.

So, with that, I thank you for joining us and we would be happy to take your questions. I think we can open the line for questions now. Thank you.

Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. The first question is from the line of Sucrit D Patil from Eyesight Fintrade Private Limited. Please go ahead.

Good evening to the team. I have two questions, both forward-looking ones. My first question is to Mr. Sahni. With demand for residential estates remaining healthy but increasingly selective across micro markets, how is Raymond's Realty sharpening its project selection, launch tactics and execution focus to build a more scalable and differentiated residential portfolio?

In this context, how do you balance brand-led premium with volume growth while managing regulatory timelines and ensuring consistent customer satisfaction across all the projects?

That's my first question. I'll ask my second question after that. Thank you.

Thank you for that. Actually, your question is very, very wide. I can talk on this subject for a couple of hours also, but I'll try and shorten it and create a telescopic message. Essentially, when we started this business, what we set out to solve in the market were just three things.

The first thing we wanted to solve in the market was that there should be quality product that we have to deliver in the market.

And the second thing we wanted to solve was timely delivery or before-time delivery. And the third thing we wanted to solve was customer focus. So in terms of giving the service to the customer, which in this industry, actually customers are not used to very high standard of service. Unlike, even if you look at car industry, while it is large ticket, the service levels are very, very different.

Now, this sounds very hygiene and very simple, but it's easier said than done. It's very difficult to execute for the very reasons that you detailed out that there is, the regulatory issues are there, the market is not completely consolidated while it's marching toward consolidation.

Now, what it what it does for us is one is it brings acute focus on all the decisions that we make, that they are going to be customer focused and they are not going to be developer focused. Like some of the questions you asked is, while keeping margins and this, that and the other into. So if I have to have a trade-off between what the customer wants versus whether it will impact my margin or not, I will always choose the customer side.

And that's how we are building this business. And once we have reached a certain point, it will automatically give us a huge premium because we will stand out from the rest of the market.

There will be there are very few players who in the market who are currently thinking in this direction that you have to give quality, you have to give it on time and you have to keep the consumer experience very, very high.

Like I said, most of the developers are developer focused and they are not customer focused.

So that is something we set out to change in the market. And that will ensure that no matter where the market is, our market share will keep on growing. So we don't have to grow. You know, one strategy is that, when the water rises, all boats will rise. So you rise with the market.

The other is that even if there is less water, I will create a craft or a ship which can navigate shallow water also. So our market share will grow even when the market is not doing so great because of the things that we have set out to achieve. We're very happy to share that. So far, our journey has been pretty exciting on all fronts.

So as far as the quality product is concerned, I think all our customers are testimony for whatever we have delivered in the market. And we have delivered significant number of apartments so far in Thana. And as far as timelines are concerned, we've got third party testimonial to prove that we have delivered our projects way ahead of timelines that we committed.

And as far as the service quality is concerned, there also we've done significant amount of work. In fact, we have a separate department on there is a chief customer relationship officer who's there who reports directly to me. And we've created an entire ecosystem and he touches

every function in the organization. So it's not about one guy handling customer relations. It's about every department firing to make sure all touch points are covered.

So I hope I have broadly answered your question. If you have anything specific, we can separately also meet and spend more time on this because this is the core of our strategy, actually.

Definitely, I would love to meet you. My second question is to Mr. Rakesh Tiwary. I believe he's also on the call today. Yes, he is.

Thank you. So again, it's a forward looking one. You know, as the company continues to scale its real estate portfolio amidst fluctuations in input cost, funding conditions and cash flow cycles, which are unfortunately inherent to the particular space. How are you approaching capital allocation and project level financial discipline?

Additionally, how do you evaluate the trade-off between faster project monetization, balance sheet strength and reinvestment into new developments to sustain long term value creation? Thank you.

Yes, thank you for the question. So, see, few things I want to explain you well in advance that the question was loaded one in the beginning itself, that there are a lot of fluctuations in the cash flow, which is not the reality. And now coming back to in terms of your capital allocation. See, first of all, in terms of allocating the capital, risk management is the most important critical role or the critical point, which we take into account while allocating the capital.

Apart from that, we assess the regulatory readiness, title clearing, zoning approval, timelines, execution complexities before committing any capital to the project. Just to give you a glimpse, we have got a tight internal control management in terms of the way we approve the project. And there are several layers of approval which happens before any project can see a day of the light, so far execution is concerned.

Now, second point is that the capital deployment is also milestone linked. We do not commit the full capital upfront. I mean, the release are tied to the approvals, leasing viability or the construction progress to ensure that the capital efficiency and there is a full scale downward protection, which is there in terms of whatever project is undertaken.

I think your second question was in terms of the funding part. See, our endeavour is that the real estate products should be self-funded over the cycle. Our most important preference always is to have an asset level structure, partnership or monetization group that minimizes the balance sheet strain and it protects the group ROCE. That is the full idea in terms of our funding strategy.

So, this is in terms of summary. I mean, I will request Harmohan if you want to add anything on this.

Yes, so there are two parts to it. I think the first question is on capital allocation. See, at the group level, capital allocation has already been solved through demergers. So, each business has its own balance sheet and they will raise their own capital. So, there is no further support, which is as of now being provided by the corporate to any of the group companies. They are supposed to be self-sufficient.

And that's why this demerger was done. That was the whole philosophy behind it that, you know, businesses are now large enough and they can stand on their own. And if you look at that strategy, so capital allocation to a large extent at group level is already sorted. Now, the second layer of that is within the business, how do you allocate capital?

Now, naturally, when you are selecting projects and you are taking the decision, capital decision, so automatically that capital allocation happens. The moment you approve a project and you move forward, you allocated capital for that project. And for that, there are several criterias that we look at. Of course, the entire time cycle that it takes for the money to come back. Number one is, of course, our asset light, capital light, JDA model.

So, I don't have to pay for the land. I don't have to pay for, very heavy costs upfront for other attendant costs and transaction costs which go with the buying land. And then obviously, everything is based on how much return on capital that you will make. What is the IRR that the project will give you? And see the projects that you've already taken on. Obviously, you cannot upload and opt out.

So in a way, it is automatic. But of course, if there are three, four competing projects that I have to allocate capital on, then the criteria is very clear. How much multiple of my peak investment that is going to give me? What's the return on capital employed? What's the IRR that we'll be making? Based on that, we stress test all the assumptions, create scenarios. And on a risk-adjusted basis, we take that call. I hope I've been able to answer your question.

That's a very detailed guidance. And best of luck for the next quarter.

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Rishabh Kothari from Ashish Shah Investment Advisors. Please go ahead.

Hi, sir. Myself, Rishabh this side. Congratulations. First of all, congratulations for posting good set of numbers. My question is regarding valuation. Sir, I can understand market is evaluating company's operational front of execution of projects and guidance achievement for re-rating our share. But have we considered an option to increase promoter's stake by, let's say, 10% to some 60% so that in future when we need funds, we can dilute it and raise the funds to valuation at that time?

So, first question one, are we considering increasing our promoter's stake? And question number two, one of our regulations for mutual funds or DIIs is to invest in a stock that should be in the Nifty index. So, let's say that mutual fund and DIIs can invest in Raymond Realty if

our stock is in Nifty Realty Index. And now, as mandated by NSC to consider and examine stock for six months, are we reaching out to NSC to include our company in Nifty Realty Index?

So, only two questions. Promoter increasing stake, number one. And two, inclusion in Nifty Realty Index. Over to you, sir.

So, this is Jatin Khanna here. So, on the first question, see, firstly, the business currently is adequately funded. So, there is no question of promoter funding or not funding. Of course, they believe in the growth of each of the businesses. There have been instances in the past wherein they have made investments from time to time.

In fact, they have not taken any liquidity from any past divestments which have happened.

Almost INR1,400 crores has been invested by the promoters in the Raymond businesses over a period of time. So, clearly, if there is a capital requirement in the business, promoters can always decide at that point in time.

At this stage, there is no capital requirement. So, therefore, we are not even tapping the promoters or, for that matter, any other investor to raise capital. That's one. The projects are adequately funded. And we spoke a lot about the capital allocation as well, in the previous question. So, I think that's sort of, to me, point number one.

And question two was inclusion in Nifty Realty Index, sir.

Sorry, on the Nifty inclusion, basically, the way it works is that there are technology-based parameters that stock exchanges have. There is no manual intervention which is possible from any company to make a request or have any discussion with stock exchanges on this.

So, they have their own preset algorithms. And based on those algorithms, if your stock gets picked up in the Nifty, that's great. If it gets picked up in F&O, that's great. But all of that happens based on the algos they have preset, you know. So, it's not like you can influence or make a request there.

Okay. Sure. Thank you, sir. Thank you for the answers. And best of luck for the next quarter to you.

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Deepak Poddar from Sapphire Capital.

Thank you very much for this opportunity. So, just a couple of questions I have. Now, I think this year we are targeting a booking value of around INR2,800 crores. And this nine months, I think we have done around INR1,500 crores. So, this INR1,300 crores fourth quarter booking, so which project will drive this? I mean, which project do you expect to contribute this INR1,300 crores cumulative value?

Yes. So, currently if you see, we have about nine projects which are on stream. Roughly about seven which are running in Thane and two outside of Thane which are Bandra East. Apart

from that in Q4, we are launching four more projects which will add to this portfolio. So, there will be 13 total projects which will be delivering this INR2,800 crores number that you talked about, which is actually a derivative of the 20% growth that we have promised.

So, the new launches which are there, I mean, they are the ones which will drive because on a launch, you always get a big bump up like we have seen in all our projects. And across the industry also, you see, if you have been tracking the sector, you know that launches when the maximum inventory gets sold. So, since four launches are coming up plus the existing projects will also contribute to it.

So, existing is nine projects and four more projects will be launching in fourth -- total 13 projects, right? That's right.

And so, this Wadala and Sion, have we already launched or we are in process? I mean, which month we are planning to launch?

So, Wadala is already launched, but it is Q4 already because it was not launched in December.

That's why we have not covered it in our Q3 address, but it is already launched.

Wadala and Sion, when we are expecting to launch?

Sion should happen in middle of Feb, middle or end of third week of Feb, around that time.

Okay, understood. And you also mentioned we are on track to meet full year guidance. So, what is the guidance we have given for this year in terms of growth or margins?

The growth guidance we have given is about 20% growth on pre-sales and top line. Okay, and what about margins?

So, margins for nine months are about 13%. We will deliver significantly better in that. Our endeavour is to eventually reach a 20% margin profile. Whether it happens in Q4 or it happens in Q1 next year that is to be seen, but we will steadily march towards that.

So, 20% margin, at least FY27 is what we might target EBITDA margin? That’s right.

And for this entire year, I think this nine months, I think our margins excluding other income would be in the range of some 11%, 12%, I guess. So, for the entire year, for this FY26, we are targeting about 15%, 16% kind of EBITDA margin in that range? Yes, it will be close to what you said.

Okay, and that excludes other income, right? Yes.

Okay. That's very helpful, sir. I wish you all the very best. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Kailash Tiwari from Sikhwal Securities.

Hi all. My question is sir like historically, we enjoyed 20% to 25% EBITDA margin, largely because of Thane project on company or land, which is zero land cost. Now that our future growth is mostly on Bandra, Chembur, Wadala, it's targeting towards the JDA model, where we have to share the revenue profits to the landlord. And should we assume that this is a new normal for margin?

Does structure settle lower in between 15% to 18% of range or do we believe that premium pricing power in this micro market is highly enough to offset the JDA revenues? And also adding to this, before demerger we were easily enjoying the margin of 20%. Post demerger, we had largely dropped to 13%. I'm not sure what happened on this. How do we be -- how will we be fixing this, how we should be fixing this?

There are three reasons for the change in margin profile that you are seeing prior to demerger and now. One is, of course, when the demerger was not there, the business was a division in overall Raymond Limited. Now what happens is that there are lots of costs which do not get debited to the business because it's a division and it goes as common costs.

And the EBITDA to that extent gets overstated because when you do segmental, everything doesn't get allocated at that point in time. But now after the demerger, when all these common costs get distributed between various entities, there is always a change in the margin profile.

For any group, it will be the case and if you see our other businesses also, you will see a slight change in the margin profile because of these common costs.

And they get distributed to each business on a more realistic basis and there is no common cost concept in that sense. So that's one reason. The second reason is also there has been a change in the accounting which has happened, which primarily is relating to JDAs. Now it's highly technical.

We've given a note to that effect in our accounts also last quarter. If you see, so what happens is the accounting standards are in such a manner that whatever we are delivering as rehab portion to people who have given us the land, the value of that entire rehab portion gets captured as revenue and there is a presumptive rate of margin which is taken, which is taken at 5%.

So what happens is that 5% margin there and overall on the project you have close to 18%- 20% margin. But your average drops and it is peculiar because of this accounting anomaly.

Actually you are not receiving that revenue, you are not making that margin, but the accounting standard says so, so you have no choice but to do it.

In fact all real estate companies who are doing this will have to do this going forward. So this is something which kind of happened to us in this year. So that on the books you see this average margin going down little bit because of this averaging effect.

But as the project progresses further it kind of -- and you start booking revenue on your sales, this margin starts to creep up because initially entire rehab portion you have taken at 5%, but as you sell you will be recognizing revenue at full margin. So your average margin will start going up further. So that's the second impact which has really hit us.

I mean, primarily these are the two big factors why you are seeing this. And we have had lots of launches which have happened on JDA. Two big launches we have done so far and going forward also we will be doing two more launches. But by next year this situation will stabilize, because we will have certain mature projects on the JDA front and because of that the average margin profile will just rebound.

So it's only in initial stage you see this situation of every project when it gets launched. When you are launching there are launch expenses, the margin is lower because pricing on every project has a hockey stick curve for all projects whether it is own project or whether it is JDA.

So since there are many launches which have happened you are seeing this phenomena, but it will stabilize between 18% and 20% despite JDA being there, despite we are paying for land because wherever we are doing this project they are at a much higher pricing point.

They are 1.5x to 2x pricing of our Thane projects. So while we are paying for land, but we are also charging higher. So, that's the reason why the margin profile is lower because of the common expenses, but yes, we will be close to 18%-20%.

Sir, can we be expecting in, like, Q4 or it could be in FY '27?

Q4 also you will see an onwards march. You will see a better margin than 13% that you have seen for the 9 months.

Okay. Sir, my last question is like any expansion apart from Mumbai like Hyderabad or Bangalore or any other state in terms of like developing?

See, as of now we are clearly Mumbai focused and we want to continue doing that. There is enough room to grow in this market. In fact, the projects that we have signed so far clearly ensure 2 years growth for us at the 20% growth that we have talked about and we are currently working on year 3 and year 4's growth.

So, Bombay has a lot to offer. It is a very, very healthy market not only in terms of volume, but also in terms of pricing discipline. So, I mean risk adjusted is the best market to be in the country today.

Okay sir. I am done. Thank you. All the best.

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Khushi from Negen Capital. Please go ahead.

Hello. What is the current run rate, EBITDA run rate for the year?

Sorry, we can't hear you clearly. Can you repeat that please? Can you hear me now?

Yes, we could hear you earlier, but it wasn't very clear. Request that you repeat your question please.

What is the run rate for FY '26, EBITDA run rate for FY '26? EBITDA margin? No, the amount, the figure.

So, full year we have given a guidance that we are looking at a 20% growth on the top line and bottom line. So, we will be very close to that.

Okay, because last year we ended with approximately INR500 crores of EBITDA. And, for the cash basis also it's not near, but it's around INR300 crores.

So, see the thing is that till last year the EBITDA that you have seen is a segmental EBITDA.

And the company was not demerged. Under a segmental EBITDA you have also unallocated costs. And now that it is only one segment and one company so all those unallocated costs become the segment costs. So, to that extent your like-to-like is not a 500 number which you have seen for last year.

The like-to-like is a different number. So, therefore to that extent you know, after you adjust the unallocated costs and all then there's a 20% growth you will see on the EBITDA is the point being made.

Our next question comes from the line of Tejas Khandelwal from Prudent Equity.

So, thanks for the opportunity. So, sir my first question is we have recognized the revenue of INR108 crores from Sion in Q3. So, but it is yet to be launched. So, how should we look at it?

Yes, so there is only one way to look at it. So, what happens in case of redevelopment projects is so the existing residents have the right to purchase a certain area which is more than their entitlement. See, let's say to give an example somebody has 1000 square feet and in the scheme we have promised them that we will give you 30% more area.

So, they get 1300 square feet. But somebody wants to buy another 200 square feet and he says okay you have an apartment in your configuration of 1500 square feet. I will take that apartment instead of my 1300 entitlement but I will pay for that 200 square feet extra at the market rate.

And that gets documented and the document gets registered. So, the final definitive documents get signed and it is registered with the registrar of properties. Now, it is a result of that because the existing residents have bought certain area from us which they have the right to buy.

For that I don't need to launch the project because the planning is already done. The basic approval has already been obtained and only after that these documents happen. Because I cannot enter into a document without the basic approval. Okay sir, got it.

Yes, so it is a result of that. So, it is a genuine sale but it is a sale with the existing resident. So, the nature is slightly different. It is a very fine difference.

Okay, okay. And sir, on the collection front. So, while our pre-sales are growing but we are not seeing the same growth on collection side. So, why is that?

I don't know what you mean that you are not seeing the same growth. What is your comparison point? I don't know. You are comparing what with what?

Customer collection. So, we have collected INR427 crores in Q3 FY26. And that was INR409 crores in last quarter and INR431 crores in same quarter last year. So, there is not much growth but our pre-sales have grown?

The collection is dependent on what milestones gets achieved in the construction during that period. And what is the percentage which is linked with that milestone. So, they are not necessarily comparable from period-to-period in that sense. And when you do pre-sales, at the pre-sales time, the maximum you will collect is not more than 5%-10%.

Okay, got it. And sir, on the tax front. So, we have paid very less tax this quarter. So, what tax rate can we expect in last quarter in this Q4 and next financial year?

So, 20%-25% between taxes is what we are expecting for the full year.

You can assume 25% which is the maximum marginal rate for a company.

Considering the capital gains, the average is coming between 20%-25%.

Okay, got it. And I have a last question regarding the labour law change. So, how much expense can we expect from this change? Sorry, what's the change?

The change in labour law recently happened and the developers are giving one-time expense… There is no significant impact to us because we don't have the vintage as a company and as a business. It is just a 5 year, 5.6 years old business. So, we are not crossing the threshold. The significant impact will come to organizations which have a long vintage of 20-30-50-100 years. So, for us the impact is negligible.

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Hitendra Gupta from Systematix Shares.

Hi, good evening. I had one or two questions. One is with regard to your EBITDA margin. I think last time you have earlier guided around 20% EBITDA, and now what I hear is like you are saying that it will be around 15%-16%. Does this mean that you are revising it downward?

And my second question would be with regard to the pre-sales.

You have assumed a sale of INR1300 crores in Q4 to make a full year pre-sales of INR2800 crores. In the current environment where we are hearing that the real estate sales across is a bit soft, does it look a bit ambitious on the company's part where we are targeting INR1300 crores in the Q4?

Yes, so I will answer the second one first. So as far as the sale number is concerned, that's how we had budgeted it. And we are not experiencing any softness in any of our projects. So I don't know the market reports and whatever, because I have got four different market reports, and all four say different things. But I will rather go with my own data and what my experience has been on our projects, because that is what is more relevant as far as we are concerned.

And there is a solid plan behind it and it's all very detailed, thought through. It's not a hope that we are banking on. As far as your first question which relates to margin is what we said is that eventually this business is you can expect a 20% margin from it. Currently we are at 13% and I also explained the reasons of that so I will not go through those reasons once again.

Primarily, part of it is because of some accounting standard issue that we had. And part of it is because of the unallocated common cost which was there as an entity, which has come and the early part of the project that we have. So for the current year, we will still deliver between 18% and 20%, and that 15-16% which you heard was a specific question, which somebody asked on a certain part of the business and said that you know you remove other income, you remove this that and the other and what the margin is going to be.

But business as a whole we will be close to a 20% margin somewhere between 17% and 20% range we would be. And next year, we will continue our march towards 20%. So effectively the business is 20%, if I remove that accounting standard issue which has come, if I remove that averaging effect we will be very close to 20% by the end of this year also.

Okay so we can assume there is certainty that we can be able to see 20% EBITDA margin this year but conservatively it is better to have 17%-20% kind of a range, that's what you want to mean to say? That's right.

And with regard to sales you categorically said that you are confident based on your budgeted things and whatever you are seeing in terms of data 1300 in the last quarter is achievable.

Yes, absolutely see we are already opening up three new micro markets in the city and where we are not present.

Yes, that's it from my side. Thank you very much. All the best.

Thank you. We will take that as the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Harmohan Sahni from Raymond Realty Limited for closing comments.

Thank you very much everyone for joining us for this call today and hope to see you again in the next quarter's call. Good night.

On behalf of Antique Stock Broking Limited that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.