IndiGrid net profit slips 20% to Rs 68 cr in September quarter

Infrastructure investment trust IndiGrid's consolidated net profit fell 20 per cent to Rs 68.17 crore in the September quarter due to higher finance costs and depreciation.

The consolidated net profit was Rs 85.51 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2020, a BSE filing said.

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The finance cost in the quarter rose to Rs 266.67 crore in the second quarter from Rs 158.39 crore a year ago.

Similarly, the depreciation increased to Rs 178.27 crore in the quarter from Rs 102.23 crore.

Total income stood at Rs 559.97 crore in the quarter against Rs 393.57 crore in the year-ago period.

The board of directors of IndiGrid Investment Managers acting as manager of the India Grid Trust (IndiGrid), approved declaration of distribution of Rs 3.1875 per unit comprising Rs 1.8626 in the form of interest, Rs 0.0497 per unit in the form of dividend and Rs 1.2752 per unit in the form of principal payment for Q2 FY22 (July-September).

The record date for this distribution will be November 2, 2021, and payment will be made on or before November 11, 2021.

The board also approved raising of debt up to Rs 1,200 crore through various sources, including term loans, non-convertible debentures and/or any other mode as may be permitted under applicable law.

"We are on track to meet the increased FY22 distribution guidance of Rs 12.75 per unit on the back of 50 per cent growth in EBITDA in H1 FY'22. I am pleased to share that over the last six months, we have reinforced our operational capabilities through the implementation of DigiGrid and strengthened our balance sheet by raising pre-emptive growth capital.

"We have also substantially diversified our sources of debt and reduced the weighted average cost of borrowing by 70 bps YoY (basis points year on year)," IndiGrid CEO Harsh Shah said in a statement.

He further said, "We continue to focus on generating superior and sustainable returns for our investors on the back of our AAA-rated balance sheet, resilient operations and accretive acquisitions?.

IndiGrid continued its track record of successful acquisitions by completing the purchase of its first solar asset (FRV) in July 2021 for Rs 660 crore.

This along with the Rs 6,900 crore worth of acquisitions in FY21, has taken the total AUM (asset under management) to Rs 21,400 crore.

In April 2021, IndiGrid raised Rs 1,284 crore of capital by way of the rights issue, which was subscribed over 1.25 times to create headroom for growth.

Separately, in May 2021, IndiGrid also successfully launched the first public NCD issue by any REIT/InvIT in the country to diversify its sources of debt and increase the debt tenure.