Merill Lynch has initiated coverage on India’s leading Real Estate Giant, Ansal Properties and Infrastructure Ltd [APIL] with a BUY recommendation and a target price of Rs 425, with potential returns of 27%. Recommendation is based on 1) Scope for strong earnings growth. 2) Potential upside of Rs127/sh to from Hi Tech City project at Greater Noida, is not included in current valuation. So effective Valuation will be Rs 425 + Rs 127 = Rs Rs 552.
APIL is expected to report an EPS of Rs 35.8 and Rs 70.7 for FY08 and FY09 respectively. EPSW growth rates are nearly 100%. APIL trades at a forward P/E of mere 9x and 5x. APIL has enough land bank to develop for the next 7 to 8 years. You may download and read the entire research report from here. [PDF]