R-Infra eyes EPC revival,sets Rs 10,000-cr revenue target for FY18

Company's total EPC order book stood at Rs 3,075 cr in 2015-16, while its revenues stood at Rs 2,774 cr

Despite struggling with a huge debt burden, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) has decided to focus on the EPC business once again and has set an ambitious revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore by next fiscal, a top company official has said.

The company, which is in the process of selling all its 11 road projects that became operational in 2015-16, is planning to bid for EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) projects in sectors like power, railways and transport now.

"We again want to focus on the EPC business which had slowed down in the last few years. We want to now jump back to the level at which we were in 2010-11 when our order book stood at Rs 30,000 crore and revenues at Rs 10,000 crore. We want to reach that level by FY18," RInfra's Acting Chief Executive Officer Lalit Jalan told PTI during a post-earnings concall.

The company's total EPC order book stood at Rs 3,075 crore in 2015-16, while its revenues stood at Rs 2,774 crore.

At a consolidated level, the company had a debt pile of Rs 25,500 crore at end March, and a standalone debt of around Rs 15,000 crore.

"We are looking at orders from sectors like railways, power and transport, which includes metro and road projects. Besides, Maharashtra has already announced projects like the coastal road and Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link," he said.

Jalan further said the company aims to reach the number 2 position in the EPC space after engineering giant L&T.

"EPC is our clear focus area and we want to come back to the forefront. We aim to reach the No. 2 position soon," he said.

When asked whether the company would look at the hybrid annuity model for road projects, he said, "We will look at various opportunities in this model as well but will focus on the EPC model. We have already bid for six-seven projects, but will also be cautious as we are mindful of the economics of the business."

The company has reported a 43.72% increase in consolidated net profit for the March quarter at Rs 659.85 crore on the back of improvement in operations.