RPT-India's DLF net up 23 pct despite high lending rates

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NEW DELHI, July 31 (Reuters) - DLF Ltd (DLF.BO), India's largest-listed realty firm, on Thursday reported consolidated quarterly profit rose 23 percent as it sold more houses and offices than a year earlier despite a string of interest rate rises.

New Delhi-based DLF said net profit rose to 18.64 billion rupees ($438 million) in its fiscal first quarter ended June from 15.15 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Total revenue was up 23.2 percent at 38.46 billion rupees from 31.21 billion a year earlier.

DLF's closest rival Unitech (UNTE.BO) on Wednesday reported a 15.6 percent rise in quarterly profit and its managing director expected growth to continue despite high lending rates, which have crimped demand and increased developers' borrowing costs.

Property developers are selling stakes in individual projects to private equity firms to help fund expansion amid tight credit markets and as turbulent market conditions have forced them defer share sales.

DLF has shelved a planned $1.5 billion initial public offer for its property trust in Singapore.

Shares in DLF, valued at about $20 billion, rose 3.8 percent, ahead of the results announcement, in a Mumbai market that gained 0.5 percent. The shares are down more than 50 percent in 2008, compared with a nearly 30 percent drop in the main Mumbai index.

DLF is spending about 11 billion rupees to buy back up to 1.3 percent of its shares, joining nearly a dozen other firms that have announced similar plans to stem sliding stock prices. ($1=42.6 rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, Editing by Mark Williams)