Hitachi eyes expansion amid rising India power demand Macrotech raises FY25 pre-sales guidance by a fifth to ₹17,500 cr
Hitachi Energy is looking to open more global capability centers in India to expand local operations, amid growing energy demand and a push to scale up renewable energy generation in the country.
Zurich-based Hitachi Energy, which makes transformers and large-scale power transmitters, operates a GCC in the country, where high power demand has led to the government ramping up generation, including in renewable energy.
“We are looking at Hyderabad for our GCC... and also looking at Pune. It might take six months to one year,” said Venu Nuguri, the managing director and CEO of the company’s India unit. The center could be in either or both cities depending on the demand, he said.
The new GCC—a low-cost, offshore facility—will work alongside Hitachi Energy India, but will be part of a separate non-listed Indian entity of Hitachi Energy in Switzerland, Nuguri said.
India’s government last year rolled out incentives for green energy transition, with an aim to have 500 GW of installed capacity through non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.
India’s power consumption grew 8% in fiscal year 2023. The International Energy Agency estimates that India will add electricity demand roughly equivalent to the current consumption of the United Kingdom over the next three years. “To meet the projected demand, market needs to generate at least 3-4 times than what is being done. And accordingly, our order book will also grow two or three times, higher than market growth,” Nuguri said.
Macrotech Developers Ltd, which operates under the ‘Lodha’ brand, has raised its 2024-25 pre-sales guidance by 20% to ₹17,500 crore, supported by strong demand and a robust launch pipeline, said a top company executive.
In FY24, the Mumbai-based developer recorded ₹14,520 crore in pre-sales, its highestever in a year.
Macrotech is the one of the top four best-selling developers in the country, along with DLF Ltd, Prestige Group and Godrej Properties Ltd. All the four developers crossed ₹14,000 crore in pre-sales in FY24, a new milestone in the real estate sector.
“The market remains solid. It was a strong year of sales for us, and there is an increasing preference among homebuyers for high-quality developers. We added projects worth ₹20,000 crore in gross develdebt
Iopment value in FY24, across Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru,” managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) Abhishek Lodha said in an interview.
In March, Macrotech said it has raised ₹3,300 crore by selling shares to institutional investors.
Lodha said half of the funds raised have been used to reduce debt, and the remainder would be deployed for growth. The company’s net at the end of March declined to ₹3,000 crore, from ₹7,200 crore at the end of FY23.
Macrotech plans to launch seven new projects in the current financial year, across 3.4 million sq. ft, in Mumbai and Pune. It will launch another 6.7 million sq. ft in the form of new phases in its existing projects.
“Our strategy is simple. We are looking at consistent, profitable growth. Our enhanced financial strength will provide us an opportunity to accelerate margins as well as top line growth, as the capital is invested over the next 6-12 months,” Lodha added.
On Wednesday, the company said its net profit declined 10% year-on-year to ₹667 crore in the JanuaryMarch quarter. However, for the full fiscal year ended March 31, the developer reported a threefold jump in net profit to ₹1,554 crore, from ₹490 crore in FY23. Revenue for the March quarter rose 23% to ₹4,020 crore.