Indigrid distributable cash flow more than doubles to Rs 175cr

Ingrid, the country's first power sector Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), on Friday said its net distributable cash flow more than doubled to Rs 175 crore for the September quarter. The InvIT, promoted by Sterlite Power Grid Ventures, had reported a distribution of Rs 85.1 crore during the corresponding period last fiscal.

During the quarter, the company had reported 125.5 percent jump in revenues at Rs 372.9 crore as against Rs 165.3 crore in Q2 FY19. The Board of Sterlite Investment Managers acting as the investment manager of the trust has approved a distribution per unit of Rs 3 per unit for Q2 FY20.

"With this, IndiGrid is well on track to achieve its stated DPU guidance of Rs 12 per unit for FY20," the company said in a statement. The company's EBITDA stood at Rs 347.6 crore in September quarter as against Rs 151.7 crore in Q2 FY2019.

Commenting on the results, its CEO Harsh Shah said, "this quarter has been transformational for IndiGrid. On one hand, we achieved the highest quarterly EBITDA for IndiGrid as two acquisitions in the first quarter contributed full quarter of revenue, on the other, regulators are showcasing increased confidence in InvITs." He further said the progressive decision by SEBI to reduce the lot size for InvITs is likely to go a long way in enhancing liquidity for units and attracting wider participation from investors. "With RBI enabling banks to lend to InvITs and ECBs to be used for rupee refinancing, InvITs with good quality assets will have better access to debt capital both in terms of cost and tenures," Shah added.

He further noted that the outlook remains positive with a strong shareholder base, a robust pipeline for growth and a conducive market and regulatory environment. IndiGrid currently owns a portfolio of eight power transmission assets with a total network of 18 power transmission lines that span more than 4,900 circuit kilometers and 7,735 MVA of substations across 11 states.

On the back of framework agreement with Sterlite Power, IndiGrid is on track to grow its AUM to Rs 17,000 crore over the next two years from its existing AUM of Rs 11,056 crore, the company said.