IRB InvIT Fund, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) promoted by road developer IRB Infrastructure, has declared a ‘distribution’ of ₹3 a unit for the second quarter of FY19. The InvIT’s cash-flow distribution for the quarter stood at around ₹174 crore.

On a half-yearly basis, this has resulted in a total per-unit distribution of ₹6.05, of which ₹4.45 is interest component and balance is return on capital, the trust said.

IRB InvIT clocked ₹292 crore revenue in Q2 FY19 against ₹251 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year (when it had only six assets in its portfolio). The seventh asset, Pathankot Amristar, was transferred in September this year. The net profit for the quarter, however, declined to ₹37.4 crore from ₹67.9 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

According to Tushar Kawedia, CFO of IRB InvIT Fund, which has a portfolio of seven operational road projects, most of the assets in the portfolio have seen double-digit growth on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

The IRB InvIT Fund, the first InvIT listed in India last year, has been trading way below the offer price of ₹102 a unit. It closed at ₹73 on Tuesday.

FPIs hike stake

Kawedia claimed that investors were not able to understand the instrument, a hybrid product, completely. “It is often compared with equity and with price movements in the equity markets, whereas we believe it is more of an yield product and should be compared with debt or fixed-income products,” he said.

At the same time, Kawedia added, clarity on the product has gradually been emerging and it has been accepted by investors, with large institutional investors increasing their stake. Currently, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) hold over 35 per cent of InvIT’s units, followed by institutional investors and investments funds and trusts holding (20 per cent) and sponsors and related parties (17.5 per cent) and mutual funds (around 9 per cent).

“The retail category, which was around 25 per cent at the time of the IPO, has come down to around 11 per cent within two quarters post-IPO. There was a slight increase up to 13 per cent during Q2, which possibly indicates that retail investors are regaining confidence and they understand the product better,” Kawedia said.

comment COMMENT NOW