HCC spurts on getting arbitral award of Rs 2000 crore from NHPC, NHAI

Hindustan Construction Company rose 17.84% to Rs 40.30 at 11:32 IST on BSE after the company said it will receive arbitral award payment of approximately Rs 2000 crore from NHPC and NHAI within 4 to 6 weeks.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 1 December 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 9.43 points, or 0.04%, to 26,662.24.

On BSE, so far 1 crore shares were traded in the counter, compared with average daily volume of 28.67 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 41 and a low of Rs 37.50 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 41.90 on 14 September 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 16.60 on 12 February 2016. The stock had underperformed the market over the past 30 days till 30 November 2016, falling 6.30% compared with the 4.39% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 4.43% as against Sensex's 6.23% decline.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 77.92 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) said it has received communication from NHPC and NHAI regarding arbitral award payment. NITI Ayog has gen the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) for release of payment for timely implementation. HCC has been asked to reconcile the award amount within 7 days and thereafter open escrow account and submit bank guarantees (BGs) within 30 days for recovering the amount. This communication clears the way for HCC for receiving close to Rs 2000 crore within 4 to 6 weeks.

The communication came in the backdrop of the Government setting into motion the process to release 75% of arbitration amounts against margin free guarantee in situations where awards have been given but have been contested by the concerned authorities. The cabinet committee on economic affairs chaired by the Prime Minister in September 2016 cleared several measures proposed by the Niti Aayog to revive the construction sector such as easier norms for faster settlement of disputes between contractors and government departments, and partial deposit of funds by government agencies in form of arbitration awards.

HCC has arbitration awards for Rs 3427 crore as of 30 September 2016. Further claims worth around Rs 4173 crore are in arbitration process. About 70% of these cases were at the initial stage of arbitration process and the company has already given consent to transfer these cases under new arbitration act, which mandates decision within 12 months.

HCC's net profit declined 42.8% to Rs 23.08 crore on 8.2% decline in net sales to Rs 759.03 crore in Q2 September 2016 over Q2 September 2015.

HCC develops and builds infrastructure.

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