IRB

Recasts; adds comments, stock move and backgrounds

By Nikunj Ohri, Shivangi Acharya and Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India slashed personal tax rates in its annual budget on Saturday, as the world's fifth largest economy focuses on boosting domestic demand amid uncertainty over the global economic outlook due to potential new tariff barriers.

The world's most populous country is expected to post its slowest growth in four years next year amid frail urban demand and weak private investment, while stubbornly high food inflation has dented disposable incomes.

The government said people earning up to 1.28 million Indian rupees ($14,800) per year will not have to pay any taxes, raising its threshold from 700,000 rupees. It also lowered tax rates for people earning above the new threshold.

"The new structure will reduce taxes on middle class and leave more money in their hands, boosting household consumption, savings and investment," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in parliament.

The move will result in an annual 1 trillion Indian rupee ($11.6 billion) hit to Treasury revenues.

Measures to assist the poor, youth, farmers and women were also included in the budget for 2025-26, Sitharaman said.

Increasing living costs have weighed on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with one survey showing more Indians are becoming less hopeful about their quality of life.

Per capital income is around $2,700 for India's population of 1.4 billion, with about one-third considered middle class.

The tax cut is "likely to spur consumer demand and savings by the middle class that has faced challenges from elevated inflation and lower income growth," Sakshi Gupta, economist at HDFC Bank.

The move led to a rally in consumer stocks such as Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, Godrej Consumer Products GOCP.NS and Prestige Estates PREG.NS, which jumped by 4% to 8%.

To balance the revenue lost, the government has budgeted for a modest increase in capital spending this year, which will rise to 11.21 trillion rupees in 2025-26 compared to a lowered 10.18 trillion in the current year.

The modest infrastructure spending increase disappointed investors in the sector and stocks of firms including Larsen & Toubro LART.NS, NBCC NBCC.NS, IRB Infra IRBI.NS and KEC International < KECL.NS> were down between 1% and 6%.

The government expects to improve its finances, targeting a fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP in 2025-26, down from a revised 4.8% of GDP in the current year.

It will borrow 14.82 trillion Indian rupees via the bond markets to fund this year's fiscal deficit.

The government, however, refrained from pre-empting the impact of potential tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump on India and focussed on lowering some input costs for industries that have been raising output such as electronics and

renewables.

FOCUS ON FARM, MANUFACTURING AND FINANCIAL SECTOR

India has faced a bout of high food inflation over the past year due to weather changes impacting output.

To boost productivity across the farm sector, the government will launch a national mission to push high-yielding crops, with a special focus on pulses and cotton production.

To help farmers, the limit for subsidised credit has been raised to 500,000 Indian rupees ($5,778) from 300,000 rupees earlier.

The government will also launch missions to push manufacturing and exports, Sitharaman said, without going into details.

India has long aimed to boost the share of manufacturing and exports in its economy but has had little success. The share of manufacturing in the economy has remained close to 17%, short of its long-standing goal of 25%.

To deepen the penetration of insurance in the economy, the foreign direct investment limit on insurance was raised to 100% from 74% currently.

($1 = 86.5360 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Nikunj Ohri in New Delhi; Writing by Ira Dugal and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

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Dec 16 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• EXECUTION OF AGREEMENTS FOR GANGA EXPRESSWAY PROJECT

• ENTERED AGREEMENT FOR ACQUISITION BY PRIVATE INVIT OF 80.40% STAKE IN MBEL

Source text: ID:nBSE2xT3Ch

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS down 4.3% to 51.7 rupees

** Highways and bridges maker reported a 9% drop in Q2 consol rev

** At least 4 of 6 brokerages cut TP, lowering the median to 67 rupees - LSEG data

** HDFC Securities ("add") cuts by 4% on delay in project execution

** Antique Stock Broking ("buy") cuts TP by 5% on declining order book in road, construction segments

** Motilal Oswal ("neutral") cuts by TP by 1.6% due to lower execution in construction business

** Analysts' avg rating on stock is "buy" -LSEG data

** Stock is up 1.7% so far this week, on track to snap five straight weeks of losses

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

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Oct 30 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL NET PAT 998.7 MILLION RUPEES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS SEPT-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 15.86 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9VFJvP

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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Oct 14 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS- APPROVES TAP ISSUANCE OF ADDITIONAL USD-DENOMINATED NOTES FOR UP TO $200 MILLION

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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Oct 8 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• SEPTEMBER GROSS TOLL COLLECTION INCREASE 19% Y/Y

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE2Rf6sz

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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Sept 9 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS - AUGUST TOLL COLLECTION INCREASES ABOUT 20% Y/Y

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE3PlKdC

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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Aug 9 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LTD JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL NET PAT 1.40 BILLION RUPEES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LTD JUNE-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 18.53 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: [ID:]

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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July 10 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• JUNE TOLL REVENUE OF IRB INFRA & IRB INFRASTRUCTURE TRUST UP 35% Y/Y

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE51KfSh

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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June 11 (Reuters) - Ferrovial SE FERF.AS:

• SELLS, THROUGH ITS UNIT CINTRA, A 5% STAKE IN IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS FOR 214 MILLION EUROS

• ESTIMATED PRE-TAX CAPITAL GAIN FROM THIS TRANSACTION IS 130 MILLION EUROS

• SALE IN FORM OF BLOCK DEAL OR PLACEMENT OF 301.9 MILLION SHARES WITH INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS

• SHARES IN IRB SOLD AT AVERAGE PRICE OF 63.60 RUPEES

• TO CONTINUE TO BE THE SECOND-LARGEST SHAREHOLDER, WITH A 19.9% STAKE

Source text for Eikon: ID:nCNM5XXcKR

Further company coverage: FERF.AS

(Gdansk Newsroom)

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** Shares of Ashoka Buildcon ABDL.NS surges 13.8% to a record high of 212 rupees

** Fellow highway maker IRB Infrastructure IRBI.NS jumps 7% on reporting over 30% rise in toll collection for May

** ABDL last up ~12%, set for best one-day rise since Jan 9 and taking YTD gains to ~50%

** Trading vol tops 11 mln shares for first time since Jan 9

** IRB and Ashok Buildcon expected to benefit from 3%-5% hike in road toll charges from last Monday

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

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June 6 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LTD - MAY TOLL COLLECTION INCREASE ABOUT 30% Y/Y

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE9skBDK

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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Repeats story that ran on Sunday, with no changes

By Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI, June 2 (Reuters) - India will hike road toll charges across the country by 3-5% from Monday, officials said, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the country's general elections.

Toll charges in India are revised annually in line with inflation and highway operators put notices in local newspapers announcing hikes of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from Monday.

"As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become effective from June 3," a senior official at the National Highways Authority of India told Reuters.

The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.

High operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS and Ashok Buildcon Ltd ABDL.NS will benefit from the toll increases.

India has invested billions of dollars over the last decade to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 146,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.

Toll collections jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2018/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.

India's general election concluded on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance projected to win a big majority, TV exit polls showed.

($1 = 83.4240 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Susan Fenton)

(([email protected]; +919810286200; Twitter:@manojgulnar;))

By Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI, June 2 (Reuters) - India will hike road toll charges across the country by 3-5% from Monday, officials said, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the country's general elections.

Toll charges in India are revised annually in line with inflation and highway operators put notices in local newspapers announcing hikes of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from Monday.

"As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become effective from June 3," a senior official at the National Highways Authority of India told Reuters.

The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.

High operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS and Ashok Buildcon Ltd ABDL.NS will benefit from the toll increases.

India has invested billions of dollars over the last decade to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 146,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.

Toll collections jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2018/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.

India's general election concluded on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance projected to win a big majority, TV exit polls showed.

($1 = 83.4240 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Susan Fenton)

(([email protected]; +919810286200; Twitter:@manojgulnar;))

** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS rise 3.5% to 68.40 rupees, set for best day in 4 weeks

** Highways and bridges maker reports 45.1% Y/Y rise in Q4 profit, while rev rose 27.2%

** Stock on track to snap two consecutive sessions of losses

** Average rating of six analysts covering the stock is "buy"; median PT is 65.50 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock's rise takes YTD gains to ~65%

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru)

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May 7 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL NET PAT 1.89 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS PROFIT 1.3 BILLION RUPEES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS MARCH-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 20.61 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 16.2 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE6tYkHb

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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By Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI, April 1 (Reuters) - India on Monday put on hold a proposed hike in road toll charges, in a move that will be welcomed by millions of motorists, truckers and commercial vehicle owners just ahead of a general election.

The annual hike in road toll charges would have benefited highway operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS and Ashok Buildcon Ltd ABDL.NS while putting an extra burden on commuters and businesses who could see freight rates rise as a result.

"The revision of user fee (toll) rates with effect from April 1 has been put on hold after taking permission from the Election Commission," a senior official at National Highways Authority of India told Reuters.

India will hold a general election in seven phases from April 19 to early June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his regional allies are aiming for a comfortable win against an alliance of two dozen opposition parties.

Highway operators have already put notices in local newspapers about hikes in toll charges of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from April 1. Toll charges are revised annually in line with inflation.

Opposition parties and commuters had criticised the proposed toll hikes as both tolls and fuel prices have gone up significantly since Modi came to office.

The government says hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways.

Separately, the election commission also allowed the government to put on hold the proposed annual hike in electricity tariffs till the completion of the election process, the government statement said.

India's toll collections have jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2028/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.

($1 = 83.3600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

(([email protected]; +919810286200; Twitter:@manojgulnar;))

** IRB Infrastructure Developers' IRBI.NS shares up 7% at 57.70 rupees

** Kotak Institutional Equities upgrades company's shares to "add" from "sell", raises PT to 65 rupees from 60 rupees

** New concession model by India's highways authority will benefit companies such as IRBI - brokerage

** Brokerage expects medium-term pipeline for built-operate-transfer projects at around 2 trillion rupees over next two years

** Companies such as IRB with strong balance sheet could be key beneficiary and could garner healthy market share - brokerage

** IRBI shares up ~39% YTD, after gaining 43% last year

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Bengaluru)

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Adds detail on IRB Infrastructure Trust in paragraph 3, detail from filing in paragraphs 5 and 6

March 14 (Reuters) - Spanish construction giant Ferrovial FERF.AS said on Thursday it will buy a 24% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust, an investment vehicle that holds a portfolio of 12 toll road concessions in India, for 740 million euros (about $810 million).

The group will acquire this stake from affiliates of Singapore's sovereign fund GIC, which currently owns a 49% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust, Ferrovial said in a filing to Spanish stock market regulator CNMV.

IRB Infrastructure Trust has a pipeline of three additional concessions in a country that is expanding its highways and plans to invest around 240 billion euros in roads until 2025, Ferrovial said, citing a report by India's Department of Economic Affairs.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of April, subject to regulatory approvals.

Ferrovial said the deal completes its investment in the Indian market after reaching its internal size target.

The Spanish group, which manages highways in North America and Europe, also holds a 24.86% stake in IRB Infrastructure Developers, an Indian infrastructure company that is one the country's largest toll road developers.

GIC's affiliates will retain a 25% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust and IRB Infrastructure Developers will keep its current 51% stake, it said.

($1 = 0.9140 euros)

(Reporting by Matteo Allievi and Corina Pons, editing by David Latona and Savio D'Souza)

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** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS up 5% at 63.8 rupees before trimming gains to last trade 2% higher

** Stock gains after IRBI says Feb gross toll collection at 4.62 bln rupees ($55.84 mln), up 31.4% y/y

** Co, which develops transport infrastructure for highways, set to snap three straight sessions of losses if gains hold

** IRBI, however, on track for fourth straight weekly loss

** Avg of 5 analysts rate stock 'buy', median price target is 60 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock up 49% YTD, after climbing last four years

($1 = 82.7325 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; https://twitter.com/ramavenkat0607;))

Recasts paragraph 1, adds details from paragraph 2-5

By Bhakti Tambe

MUMBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - India's IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS has raised $540 million through dollar-denominated bonds maturing in eight years at a 7.11% coupon, a senior company official said on Friday.

The private roads and highways developer received over $2 billion in bids, reflecting an oversubscription of about four times, with final participation from over 115 investors worldwide.

The "overwhelming response" received on the issuance is a testimony of investor confidence in the company’s commitment towards infrastructure development, Virendra Mhaiskar, chairman and managing director of IRB Infrastructure Developers, told Reuters on Friday.

The bond issue will enable the company to diversify and strengthen its funding sources while establishing long-term relationships with international capital market investors, he added.

The issue has a weighted average life of seven years and three months, a yield of 7.125%, with proceeds earmarked for refinancing purposes.

Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Citigroup, CLSA, J.P.Morgan, and Standard Chartered Bank were the joint bookrunners for the issue.

The notes are expected to be rated BB+ by Fitch and Ba2 by Moody's.

(Reporting by Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Dhanya Ann Thoppil)

(([email protected]; Reuters Messaging: [email protected] Twiter: https://twitter.com/TambeBhakti))

MUMBAI, Feb 26 (Reuters) - India's IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS has mandated bankers for a potential dollar bond issue, who will arrange meetings with fixed income investors from Monday, according to a draft term sheet seen by Reuters.

The roads and highways developer has appointed Barclays, Citigroup, CLSA, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Chartered Bank as joint bookrunners to arrange investor meetings and calls in Asia, Europe and the United States.

The company is looking to issue a benchmark sized Regulation-S dollar-denominated bonds maturing in eight years and another offering maturing in 7.25 years may follow, subject to market conditions, the term sheet showed.

The proposed notes are expected to be rated BB+ by Fitch and Ba2 by Moody’s, and the company intends to use the proceeds largely for refinancing.

Last week, IRB Infrastructure's board approved raising funds of up to $550 million via foreign currency denominated notes.

(Reporting by Bhakti Tambe; Editing by Varun H K)

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Feb 7 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• JAN TOTAL TOLL COLLECTION INCREASED 25% YOY TO 4.67 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE7bRTVD

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

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** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS rise as much as 5% to a record high of 69.6 rupees

** Infrastructure development co reported 32.6% rise in consolidated PAT; rev from ops rose 30%
** Stock has been trading above 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving avg since August

** Stock on track to gain for a fifth consecutive week, if trend holds

(Reporting by Navamya Ganesh Acharya in Bengaluru)

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Jan 31 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS - APPROVED RAISING OF DEBT WORTH UPTO 45 BILLION RUPEES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS LTD - TO ISSUE AND ALLOT FOREIGN CURRENCY DENOMINATED NOTES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS DEC-QUARTER CONSOL PAT 1.87 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 1.41 BILLION RUPEES

• IRB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPERS DEC-QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 19.69 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 15.14 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nNSE7NkCgY

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS rise 19% to 60.3 rupees and look set for a record close

** Arbitration tribunal ordered National Highways Authority to India (NHAI) to pay 17.2 bln rupees (around $207 mln) to a project SPV of IRB Infrastructure Trust due to delays

** IRB, the contractor for the project, to get 16.81 bln rupees (~$202 mln) of the total

** Around 164.5 mln shares of highways builder traded, 4.7x the 30-day avg volume

($1 = 83.1150 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; Mobile: +91 9591011727;))

** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS jumps 9% to hit record high of 46 rupees after robust Dec toll collection

** IRBI says toll collection in Dec grew 26% Y/Y to 4.88 billion rupees ($58.74 million)

** Expects growth to continue for remaining quarter of FY24

** Stock hits record high for second session so far this month

** IRBI up nearly 11% this year, outpacing the Nifty infrastructure index .NIFTYINFR which has risen about 2%

($1 = 83.0787 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru)

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Dec 28 (Reuters) - IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS:

• SAMAKHIYALI TOLLWAY COMMENCED TOLL COLLECTION AND CONSTRUCTION ON PROJECT AS ON DEC 28, 2023

• PROJECT INVOLVES SIX LANING OF 90.90 KMS OF NH27 WITH TOTAL COST OUTLAY 20.92 BILLION RUPEES

Source text for Eikon: ID:nBSE4WwR16

Further company coverage: IRBI.NS

(([email protected];))

** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers IRBI.NS rise as much as 3.6% to 40.3 rupees

** Antique Stock Broking raises target price to 60 rupees/shr from 49 rupees/shr, representing 54.2% upside to stock's last close

** Maintains "buy" rating

** IRB is still deeply undervalued as it has chance to win 20% of 444 bln rupees ($5.33 bln) through BOT (toll) mode, and road projects can yield +10% project internal rate of return - Antique

** Stock on track to rise for a fifth straight month, gaining ~40% over the last four months

** IRBI has been above 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day simple moving avgs since August, indicating bullish sentiment

** Avg rating of six analysts is "buy", median PT is 36 rupees - LSEG data

** IRBI currently 1.8% higher, extending YTD gains to ~36%

** On track to rise for fourth straight year

($1 = 83.2710 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] ;))

** Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd IRBI.NS, RIC rise as much as 6.4% to a record high of 40.9 rupees

** Highways infrastructure developer says November toll collection rose 19.4% y/y to 4.37 billion rupees; expects "growth momentum to continue"

** More than 25.1 mln shares change hands by 9:24 a.m. IST

** Six analysts covering the stock rate it "buy" on avg; median PT is 36 rupees - LSEG data

** Stock up over 40% YTD, outperforming Nifty Infrastructure index's .NIFTYINFR 33.2% rise

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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