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The outlook for mall developer The Phoenix Mills Ltd is getting brighter with improving footfall. In its quarterly update, the company said that consumption in Q2FY23 stood at Rs2,197 crore which is 130% of the pre-covid Q2FY20 period. On a like-to-like basis, excluding Palassio’s contribution, it is 118%.
Retail collections during the quarter stood at Rs530 crore, flat sequentially. In H1FY23, collections stood at Rs1,060 crore, rose 27% compared to pre-covid H1FY20. Further, the crucial metrics of occupancy and average room rate (ARR) in its hotels segment are seeing a decent recovery.
Analysts at Edelweiss Securities Ltd note that the revival in consumption in malls and occupancy in hotels, and liquidation of ready inventory in the housing segment are likely to culminate in robust cash flows going ahead.
Consumption at malls is expected to see a further rise in the ongoing quarter aided by the festive season. The upcoming holiday season is expected to give the company's hospitality segment a boost in the second half of the fiscal year. So, investors in the stock need to closely monitor the trends in both these verticals.
"Apart from the addition of new malls over the next couple of years, we believe conclusion of Project Rise will aid significant value unlocking as it is one of the marquee retail assets," said analysts at Antique Stock Broking Ltd.
Meanwhile, shares of the company hit a new 52-week high of Rs1465.80 on the NSE on 30 September 2022. However, the stock is currently trading at slightly lower levels.
"Entry in new cities, operationalisation of under construction/planned assets and normalisation of operations post-covid-19 are some of the stock triggers that we expect to play out over the next few years," said the Edelweiss report on 6 October.