Lodha Developers Limited — Q4 FY26 earnings call

Call held 27 Apr 2026

Management summary

Macrotech Developers reported a strong Q4 and FY26, driven by robust presales growth and significant debt reduction. The company exceeded its business development targets, expanded into new markets like NCR, and made progress on its Palava infrastructure and data center initiatives. Despite global uncertainties and past regulatory delays, management expressed confidence in future growth, emphasizing profitability and capital discipline.

Highlights

  • FY26 Presales reached INR205 billion, up 16% YoY, with every quarter delivering best-ever performance.

  • Q4 FY26 Presales were INR58.9 billion, a 23% YoY increase, marking the strongest quarter in history.

  • FY26 PAT grew 24% to INR34.3 billion, achieving a 20% margin, and has grown more than 6x over the last 5 years.

  • Net debt reduced by INR8 billion in Q4 to INR53.8 billion, bringing net debt to equity down to 0.23x from 3.5x at IPO.

  • Business development was a standout, adding 12 projects with INR600 billion of GDV, 2.4x the company's guidance.

  • Average cost of debt decreased by 90 basis points to 7.8% for the year.

Concerns

  • Global environment was challenging, with Middle East tensions causing select deferrals of closures in March.

  • Environmental clearances delay affected construction and new launches in the first 3 quarters of FY26.

  • Construction cost increases of 3-5% are expected to have a modest impact on margins (0.35% if persistent for 6 months).

  • Labour attrition in March/April ran 5-10% over seasonal norms, partly due to general sentiment and state elections.

Key financials

2 periods

Q4 FY26

  • Presales
    58.9 Bn
    YoY +23%

FY26

  • Presales
    205 Bn
    YoY +16%
  • Collections
    —
    YoY +5%
  • Operating Cash Flow
    71 Bn
  • Financial Revenue
    —
    YoY +21%
  • Adjusted EBITDA
    —
    YoY +14%
  • PAT
    34.3 Bn
    YoY +24%
  • PAT Margin
    20%
  • Underlying Development Margin
    33%
  • Net Debt
    53.8 Bn
  • Net Debt to Equity
    0.23×
  • Cost of Debt
    7.8%
  • Annuity Income
    3 Bn

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 30.7%, net profit up 63.0% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue2,590 4,016 3,890 3,349 2,983 +15%4,307 +7%3,902 +0%4,378 +31%
EBITDA682 1,271 1,047 958 618 −9%1,328 +4%963 −8%1,525 +59%
Net profit393 832 742 644 336 −15%1,146 +38%794 +7%1,050 +63%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Order book

high confidence

Total value

₹205 Bn

as of 2026-03-31 quantified

16% YoY

Inflow this quarter

₹58.9 Bn

Composition

Mix 2 segments
  • Luxury (INR50 crores+) 13%
  • Luxury (INR100 crores+) 40%

Share of order book by segment· partial disclosure (53% of the book)

Pipeline

other

Launch pipeline for FY27, GDV already identified.

Cancellations & deferrals

  • deferred: Select deferral of closures in March due to Middle East news cycle.
  • deferred: INR500 crores shortfall from guidance due to Middle East impact.
The inherent predictability of our sales is increasing and improving each year and the dependence on new launches is becoming lower.

Source: Prepared remarks

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex Capex disclosed largely self-funded from ongoing land sales in the park
    • Data center powered shell capacity development (1 gigawatt on 100 acres) ₹100 Bn
    We are now planning to develop about 1 gigawatt of powered shell capacity on a build-to-suit basis, on about 100 acres out of these 400 acres of land with incremental cost in 2026 terms of about INR100 billion to INR110 billion, largely self-funded from the ongoing land sales in the park
  • Debt Net ₹53.8 Bn Cost 7.8%
    • Repayment Reduced net debt by INR8 billion during Q4 ₹8 Bn
    On our balance sheet, the net debt ended the year at INR53.8 billion, reducing by INR8 billion during Q4. Net debt to equity is at 0.23x, well within our self-imposed ceiling of 0.5x. Our average cost of debt is 7.8%, down 90 basis points for the year.
  • M&A New Projects Acquisition · Closed

    High-quality, well-structured transactions reflecting continued flight of landowners to trusted developers.

    Added 12 projects with INR600 billion of GDV, 2.4x guidance.

    Business development was particularly a standout. We added 12 projects with INR600 billion of GDV, 2.4x, our own guidance.
  • M&A NCR Land Pieces Acquisition · Closed

    Entry into India's second largest housing market with significant opportunity.

    2 land pieces under JDA route in Gurgaon with GDV of about INR33 billion.

    Touching upon our key strategic initiatives last year, the NCR, we entered in fiscal '26 with acquisition of 2 land pieces under the JDA route. ... The 2 projects that we've signed are in Gurgaon with a GDV of about INR33 billion.
  • M&A Palava Data Center Land Divestment · Closed · Consideration ₹210 (undisclosed)

    Monetization of shovel-ready land for data centers.

    Last transaction with STT at approximately INR210 million to INR230 million per acre, up 8x in land value in 4 years.

    The last transaction with STT was at approximately INR210 million to INR230 million per acre, up 8x in land value in 4 years.

Guidance & targets

Presales

  • Presales Value Presales · FY27 · High confidence INR240 billion
    Our guidance for FY '27, we are guiding to presales of about INR240 billion

    — Abhishek Lodha

EBITDA Margin

  • Embedded EBITDA Margin EBITDA Margin · FY27 · High confidence 32% to 34%
    with an embedded EBITDA margin of 32% to 34%. This includes single-digit percentage contribution from land sales.

    — Abhishek Lodha

PAT Growth

  • PAT CAGR PAT Growth · FY26 to FY31 · High confidence 20%
    Over the medium term, our goal is focused on 20% CAGR in PAT and therefore, moving from about INR34 billion for fiscal '26 to more than INR85 billion by fiscal '31.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Annuity Income

  • Annual Rental Income (existing assets) Annuity Income · FY31 · High confidence INR10 billion
    The estimated annual rental income from these existing assets will be about INR10 billion by fiscal '31, excluding any data center contribution.

    — Abhishek Lodha

  • Rental Income Growth Annuity Income · next 6 years · High confidence 10x FY26 number
    Thus, we target reaching 10x of the fiscal '26 rental number in the next 6 years.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Palava Land Sales Value

  • Value per acre Palava Land Sales Value · next few years · High confidence INR0.7 billion per acre
    which we expect value to reach INRO.7 billion per acre over the next few years

    — Abhishek Lodha

  • Total generation from land sales Palava Land Sales Value · FY27 onwards · High confidence INR120 billion
    and total to generate over INR120 billion from fiscal '27 and onwards in land sales value.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Presales (Extended Eastern suburbs)

  • Presales Value Presales (Extended Eastern suburbs) · FY30 · High confidence INR80 billion
    The guidance of INR80 billion per annum was a combination of obviously, residential presales combined with the presales of all other asset classes in the Extended Eastern suburbs. So that number has to be seen holistically, but there is no real change in our viewpoint.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Price Appreciation

  • Price Growth Price Appreciation · FY27 · High confidence 5%
    Price growth last year came in at about 5%, and we expect a similar trend for fiscal '27.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Volume Growth

  • Volume Growth (sq ft terms) Volume Growth · FY27 · High confidence 11-12%
    Last year's volume growth came in, in square foot terms, at about the 11%, 12% mark, and we expect a similar number for this fiscal too.

    — Abhishek Lodha

OCF Growth

  • OCF Growth OCF Growth · per annum · High confidence 20%
    we expect OCF to grow in line with PAT growth and therefore, grow at about 20% or thereabouts per annum from the current base of about INR71 billion, which we delivered in fiscal '26.

    — Abhishek Lodha

Debt

  • DevCo Debt Status Debt · next few years · High confidence Debt-free
    Our DevCo is on track to become debt-free over the next few years

    — Abhishek Lodha

What to watch in Q1 FY27

Middle East Situation Normalization

End of Q1 FY27
Current Injected uncertainty, caused deferrals in March
Target Normalization, no significant impact on sales

Why it matters

Directly impacts sales, especially NRI segment, and overall economic sentiment, influencing guidance assumptions.

We have assumed that this Middle East situation settles down, i.e., stop being something which affects in a significant manner, energy flows or economic impact by the end of this quarter.

Risks & concerns

  • Geopolitical Tensions (Middle East)

    medium

    Injected uncertainty into global trade and financial conditions, caused select deferrals of closures in March, impacted NRI sales.

    Management acknowledged

  • Environmental Clearances Delay

    low

    Affected construction and new launches in the first 3 quarters of FY26, but the issue is now resolved.

    Management acknowledged

  • Construction Cost Inflation

    low

    3-5% increase in overall construction cost, leading to a modest 0.35% impact on sales value if persistent for 6 months.

    Management acknowledged

  • Labour Attrition

    low

    Running 5-10% over seasonal norms in March/April, but not considered abnormal given state elections and general sentiment.

    Management acknowledged

Q&A highlights

8 direct
Guidance on gross debt zero, FCF prioritization, and OCF for FY27 Direct
The focus of the business is obviously to deliver sustainable, predictable growth on account of the significant success in business development in fiscal '26 on the back of some stronger years previously. We now have sufficient visibility on our supply side for quite some time and therefore, can afford to be a lot more choosier in terms of the new business development that we do. ... we expect OCF to grow in line with PAT growth and therefore, grow at about 20% or thereabouts per annum from the current base of about INR71 billion, which we delivered in fiscal '26.

Management clarified its capital allocation strategy, emphasizing reduced BD capex for higher FCF and provided specific OCF growth guidance.

Asked by Gaurav Khandelwal

Readiness of FY27 launch pipeline and key projects Direct
In terms of the new launches for the year, these are all launches where the land acquisition was completed in the last fiscal or before that. The design has already been completed and the approvals are either already available or well under process. Of these, we have launches in Pune. We have launches in Bangalore. And of course, we have launches in Mumbai. We haven't included the potential 2 launches in NCR in this launch guidance because we expect to start construction in the next quarter. And we expect to launch either in Q4 of this fiscal or early in fiscal 2028.

Provides detailed visibility into the FY27 launch pipeline, confirming readiness and geographic spread, while also clarifying the exclusion of NCR launches from current guidance.

Asked by Murtuza Arsiwalla

Status of environmental clearance delays in MMR Direct
Yes, Murtuza. The Supreme Court brought the situation to where it was in late 2024 back in August 2025. So, we all lost about 9 months in getting back to the same starting point. And the clearances then started getting given by, I think, sometime in November 2026 - sorry, November 2025. So, we are very much that issue is behind for the entire market, including for Lodha.

Addresses a past operational bottleneck that impacted previous quarters, confirming its resolution for the entire market.

Asked by Murtuza Arsiwalla

Milestones for data center build-to-suit announcements and lease income Direct
we expect definitely for the announcements to happen this fiscal. We are hoping sooner rather than later. And income from these, we expect to start coming in fiscal '29, which is about 2 years after the sign-up.

Provides a clear timeline for the monetization and revenue generation from the data center business, a key long-term annuity asset.

Asked by Abhinav Sinha

Impact of Middle East conflict on FY27 guidance and sales split Direct
We have assumed that this Middle East situation settles down, i.e., stop being something which affects in a significant manner, energy flows or economic impact by the end of this quarter. I also mentioned, we expect sales in the first half to be about early 40s of the overall guidance and the balance to be in the second half.

Clarifies the underlying assumptions for FY27 guidance, particularly regarding geopolitical stability and the expected sales phasing.

Asked by Abhinav Sinha

Impact of Middle East conflict on specific segments and INR500cr shortfall Direct
Pritesh, we'd like to say that March, obviously, was more driven at individual level. We had some shortfall in sales from NRIs, who are based in the Middle East. We had some shortfall in closures in the luxury segment because everybody was just grappling with what had suddenly happened. We don't expect any persistent sort of single segment impact of this war, and we think it was just the shock of the event, and we expect things to normalize unless there is a persistent energy shock.

Management detailed the specific segments (NRI, luxury) affected by the Middle East tensions and characterized the impact as a temporary shock rather than a persistent issue.

Asked by Pritesh Sheth

Outlook for Palava Residential in FY27 given infrastructure completion Direct
Pritesh, we are very excited about the infrastructure in both Palava and Upper Thane now becoming operational. It's expected that the Palava-Airoli-Mulund freeway will be operational imminently, i.e., next 2 to 3 months unless the monsoon pushes it to post monsoon, but we hope it's pre-monsoon. ... And we expect strong growth ahead of our average pre-sales growth for this fiscal. ... we expect presales growth in the Extended Eastern suburbs to be ahead of our company level presales growth for this fiscal.

Highlights key infrastructure developments expected to significantly boost residential sales in Palava and Upper Thane, projecting outperformance relative to company-level growth.

Asked by Pritesh Sheth

Strategy for data center land (develop vs. monetize) and unsold inventory Direct
We do think that the creation of the long-term compounding steady annuity stream is a strategic gap in our business. ... out of the 400 acres of land which is currently earmarked in our green data center park, about 100 acres will be used for building our own portfolio and the balance will be sold. ... No, we don't think of it that way. We don't expect that we are likely to see any reduction in our conversion rates or our sales throughput. ... So, you end the year with a higher elevated level of unsold inventory, but nothing out of the normal.

Management explained the strategic rationale behind developing a portion of data center land for annuity income while monetizing the rest, and addressed concerns about unsold inventory, attributing it to deferred launches rather than reduced sales throughput.

Asked by Kunal Tayal

3 min read 7 chapters

Detailed narrative

Q4 FY26 and Full Year Performance Highlights

Macrotech Developers delivered a strong Q4 FY26 with presales of INR58.9 billion, marking a 23% year-on-year growth and the strongest quarter in the company's history. For the full fiscal year 2026, presales reached INR205 billion, up 16% from the previous year. PAT grew 24% to INR34.3 billion, achieving a 20% margin, and has increased more than six-fold over the last five years. Operating cash flow for FY26 was approximately INR71 billion, reflecting healthy collections growth of 5%.

Strategic Shift to PAT Growth and Capital Discipline

The company is shifting its focus from headline presales numbers to sustainable PAT growth and capital discipline. Management aims for a 20% CAGR in PAT from FY26 to FY31, targeting over INR85 billion. Net debt was significantly reduced by INR8 billion in Q4, ending FY26 at INR53.8 billion, with a net debt to equity ratio of 0.23x. Business development capex is expected to be muted over the next two years, leading to higher free cash flow generation.

Macro Backdrop and Resilient Housing Market

Despite global challenges like Middle East tensions and US tariffs, India's fundamentals remain strong. The housing market benefits from structural drivers such as healthy corporate and bank balance sheets, sustained demand, and government capex. Wage growth of 9-10% and consolidation towards branded developers continue to support a long expansion in the housing market. The company believes housing is becoming a more preferred asset class due to lower volatility and resilience.

Palava's Transformative Infrastructure Development

Palava is positioned for significant value creation with ongoing infrastructure projects. The Navi Mumbai International Airport, 40 minutes from Palava, is now operational. The Mulund-Airoli-Palava freeway is expected to open soon, cutting travel time to Mumbai's Eastern suburbs to under 25 minutes. A bullet train station at Palava, targeting 2028-29, will offer a 20-minute commute to BKC. These developments are expected to accelerate price appreciation and boost EBITDA margins to approximately 50% on Palava's land holdings.

Data Center Opportunity and Long-Term Annuity Income

The company is building a structural, long-duration annuity business through data centers at Palava. With 400 acres of shovel-ready land, two anchor operators (AWS and STT) are already secured. The last land transaction with STT was at INR210-230 million per acre, an 8x increase in 4 years. Lodha plans to develop 1 gigawatt of powered shell capacity on 100 acres with an incremental cost of INR100-110 billion, largely self-funded. This is projected to generate over INR120 billion from FY27 onwards in land sales value, contributing to a target of INR10 billion annual rental income from existing assets by FY31.

NCR Market Entry and Growth Strategy

Macrotech Developers entered the NCR market in FY26 by acquiring two land pieces under a JDA route, with a GDV of approximately INR33 billion. The company sees a significant opportunity in NCR, India's second-largest housing market, which historically lacked large trusted developers. Operations are expected to commence in fiscal '27, following a pilot-and-scale model successfully used in Bengaluru, which contributed INR24 billion in presales in FY26 after three years.

Construction Cost and Labor Market Trends

The company assessed construction cost increases at 3-5% of overall cost, primarily affecting gas-dependent categories like tiles, paints, and PVC pipes. This translates to a modest 0.35% impact on sales value if persistent for six months. Labor attrition in March and April was 5-10% above seasonal norms, influenced by geopolitical events and state elections, but management does not view this as abnormal or a significant concern due to efforts in worker welfare.

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