DLF develops big cracks

Apart from JBM, another stock which was expected to react pretty strongly was DLF. The top loser on the BSE currently, the stock hit a new low today at Rs.111.25 and it continues to hover around the same levels, down over 18.5%.

The stock is mired in the red on SEBI’s order which came in last evening, barring the company’s Chairman, KP Singh, some members of the promoter family and a few senior executives from dealing in stocks and securities for three years. This ‘punishment’ has been meted out after SEBI ruled that DLF management failed to disclose material information to investors during the firm's maiden equity offer in 2007.

What this now means for DLF and its promoters, executives is that they cannot access the market for raising funds, which was part of the strategy of DLF to reduce its debt. The company had planned raising funds through REIT and now it is apparent that it cannot do so, at least till 2017.

More importantly, it casts another long shadow amongst the various other corporate governance issues faced by the company. In the coming months, with no real uptick in realty demand, earnings of the company could be impacted as high debt will continue to eat its margins.