IRB Infrastructure Q2 net up 65.10% at Rs 234.73 crore

Toll road firm IRB Infrastructure Developers today reported 65.10 per cent increase in net profit in the quarter ended September 30 at Rs 234.73 crore, mainly due to decline in expenses.
The company had reported a net profit of Rs 142.17 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Total revenues for the July-September period declined 4.15 per cent to Rs 1269.21 crore from Rs 1324.21 crore a year-ago.
IRB's total expenses in Q2 reduced to Rs 911.93 crore from Rs 1148.56 crore, registering a 20 per cent decline.
"The second quarter and first half performance is encouraging as it set robust pace for coming quarters and involved major developments. We are out of GST-led slowdown in traffic and, since September, have been witnessing promising growth across projects," its Chairman and Managing Director Virendra Mhaiskar told reporters here.

During the quarter, the company tied up Rs 1,461 crore project finance for the UdaipurGujarat border project, started tolling on two new projects and successfully transferred the Pathankot-Amritsar project to IRB InvIT, generating cash of Rs 544 crore to IRB.

"We have entered the second half with a lot more gusto and look forward to large opportunities unfolding with latest government initiatives," he said.
Mhaiskar said the company is seeing huge opportunity in the 20 hybrid annuity model (HAM) as well as toll-operate- transfer (TOT) projects the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced to boost road infrastructure.
"These projects will be up for bidding in this fiscal itself. We have traditionally been BOT players but with the government focusing on the HAM model, we have also decided to participate in that program," he said.

Asked whether the company was looking at any tie-ups for bidding for TOT projects, Mhaiskar said, "We are well funded at this stage, especially after the InvIT where we are getting cash after transferring the road projects. Also, with the past experience that we have, we are well positioned to bid for the projects individually."
He, however, did not rule out any future tie-ups and said, "Taking into consideration the size of the project or as per the situation at that time, we may look at financial partnerships."
Apart from these, the company is also looking at the ambitious Bharatmala project, which envisions to create a road network of over 60,000 kilometres.

The project subsumes all the previous road programs, including the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), and has an estimated capital outlay of Rs 5.35 lakh crore under Phase-I.
Over the next five years, India will see around 35,000 km of road network being built, including 9,000 km of economic corridors, 6,000 km of feeder roads, 2,000 km of border roads and 800 km of expressways. Construction under Phase-I will also include 10,000 km of remaining work under NHDP.
The company's debt equity ratio has further reduced substantially, from 2.1:1 before InvIT IPO to 1.7:1 now and company stands at a net cash position.

The total order book stands at about Rs 8,200 crore, including Rs 7,500 crore for construction order book at the end of Q2 of FY18.