WAPCOS files IPO papers with Sebi as govt sets new divestment targets

Public sector firm WAPCOS Ltd has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to float an Initial Public Offering.

The public issue will be a complete Offer For Sale (OFS) of up to 32,500,000 equity shares by the promoter, Government of India, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

WAPCOS provides consultancy, and engineering, procurement and construction services in the field of water, power and infrastructure sectors. It comes under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The company also provides its services abroad, particularly in South Asia and across Africa in the fields of dam and reservoir engineering, irrigation and flood control.

It has ongoing projects in 30 countries and has been associated with over 455 overseas projects, both completed and ongoing, as per DRHP.

The company's revenue from operations increased 11.35 per cent to Rs 2,798 crore in the financial year 2022 while profit after tax rose 14.47 per cent to Rs 69.16 crore during the same period.

Some of the listed peers in the segment are Ircon International, Rites, Engineers India, NBCC, and Va Tech Wabag.

As on March 2022, the company's order book stood at Rs 2,533.93 crore and Rs 18,497.33 crore for construction contracts.

So far in the current fiscal, the Centre has collected Rs 20,557 crore by way of divestment proceeds through the Life Insurance Corporation of India IPO and Rs 3,000 crore from minority stake sale in ONGC.

The government has pegged divestment target at Rs 65,000 crore for the current financial year.

IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd and SMC Capitals Ltd are the book-running lead managers to the issue. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.