Rising traffic, toll collections boost sentiment for IRB Infrastructure

Though normalisation of indicators bodes well, EPC order book expansion is crucial for growth

As toll collections and vehicular traffic continue to improve after unlocking of the economy, investor sentiment towards IRB Infrastructure Developers, too, has improved. The stock has more than doubled from lows seen in May, and recently made a 52-week high.

The June quarter (Q1) performance, recently reported by the road developer and operator, did bear the impact of the lockdown, but was still reasonable and ahead of expectations, according to analysts. Toll revenues declined by more than a half, but it was also due to nine projects going out of IRB's books (monetisation through the InvIT route). So, it is