Shares of Bangalore-based property developer Sobha were in the news after the company announced improved fourth quarter sales numbers in terms of area. But sales realisations for the company are down. The company’s share price has been under pressure and is down by around 20 per cent over the past month.

Sobha’s fourth quarter 2014-15 sales area numbers were ‘considerably improved’, according to the company’s filing with the BSE. This follows an ‘operationally subdued’ third quarter results when sales area dropped 10 per cent.

Sales in the Jan-Mar 2015 quarter stood at 1.03 million sq ft (msf) compared with 0.66 msf in the previous quarter. This was also up 12 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales improvement was broad based – with most locations such as Bengaluru, Chennai, NCR and Coimbatore reporting sales growth.

New project launches during the quarter in Bengaluru and Chennai could have also helped the pick-up in sales. In Chennai for example sales area tripled quarter-on-quarter to around 86,000 sq. ft. However, the Kerala market was the one area of concern where sales continued to dip. Sales area in Kochi for instance was cut in half in the fourth quarter of 2014-15 compared to the earlier quarter. This follows a 65 per cent quarterly drop in sales area last quarter.

Another concern, which may have influenced the stock’s tepid price action, was the drop in home sale prices. Average realisation in the fourth quarter was Rs 6,092 per sq. ft, down from Rs 6,456 in the earlier quarter. Still, thanks to higher area sold, sales value increased 47 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

For the year, the company sold 3.3 msf, compared with 3.6 msf in 2013-14. Average sale price in 2014-15 was Rs 6,389 per sq. ft compared with Rs 6.534 last year. Overall sale for the fiscal year was Rs 2,095 crore, down 10 per cent compared to a year ago.

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