Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Q1 FY 2027 conference call of Vertis Infrastructure Trust. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star and then zero on your touchtone phone. This conference call may contain forward-looking statements about the company which are based on the beliefs, opinions, and expectations of the company as on date of this call. The statements are not the guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Today, from the management side, we have with us Joint CEO, Mr. Gaurav Chandna and CFO, Mr. Abhishek Chadha. I would now like to hand over the call to CFO, Mr. Abhishek Chadha, for his opening remarks and business updates. Thank you and over to you, sir. Thank you, Sagar. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Q1 FY 2027 earnings call of Vertis Infrastructure Trust. I trust you have had a possibility to review or look at the presentation which we have uploaded on website few days back. As part of this call, I would like to take you through the key performance during the quarter covering operational and financial performance, distribution and other updates. Let me begin with key highlights of the quarter. Q1 was very strong quarter for Vertis in spite of geopolitical headwinds. Portfolio traffic grew at 9.1% year-on-year compared to projected growth of 4.1%. Growth in toll revenue was 16.4%, demonstrating the operating momentum across the portfolio. Please note the revenue growth includes the NTEPL toll rate increase for toll plaza 5, Manora Bas, as per the concession agreement, which was scheduled to be effective from January 26, subject to completion of ongoing six-laning works. Since the six-laning work is still underway, we have been compensated by authority for resultant revenue loss in accordance with concession provisions. Operating revenue for the quarter was INR 11.46 billion with EBITDA of approximately INR 10.15 billion, representing EBITDA margin of 89%. Our annuity assets continue to perform in line with expectations. With nine annuity payments aggregating INR 4.36 billion received during the quarter. Importantly, these payments were received on an average 6.1 days, weighted days ahead of their scheduled dates. This continued to demonstrate assurance with respect to predictability of our annuity cash flows. At GRICL, the government of Gujarat has awarded tender for 8 laning of Ahmedabad-Mehsana road, AMR, from existing 4 laning. The existing concession remains operational during the transition and GRICL will continue to collect the tolls for balance of its concession period up to March 2038, while the widening work are undertaken by HAM concessionaire. We have also undertaken a prudent decision to defer the planned major maintenance works to H2 FY 2027, given the uncertainty around availability and pricing of bitumen arising due to Middle East conflict. We declared a quarterly distribution of INR 3.25 per unit. Cumulative distribution since inception of the InvIT stands at INR 60.34 per unit. On a regulatory side, there is important positive resolution on WPI linking factor. NHAI had proposed a reduction in linking factor for translating from series 2011-12 to from 2.45, used for toll rate computation. Following the representation from the industry, the matter has been resolved in favor of concessionaire with existing linking factor continued to apply. This removes what could otherwise have been an adverse impact on future toll revenues. From an operational perspective, we are pleased to receive recognition from authorities for improvement in maintenance, safety, and overall operating performance at MN and BN projects. Now I'm moving to slide 6, portfolio snapshot. Coming to the portfolio, Vertis continues to operate a scaled and balanced portfolio consisting of 28 assets across 9 states with AUM of around INR 273 billion or INR 27,000 crores. Portfolio consists of 40% of toll assets, 31% of downside protected toll assets, which is TOT 16 and 29% annuity asset based on AUM. Net debt to AUM stands at 40.65%, which provide adequate headroom for the future acquisition. Moving to slide 7, traffic and revenue performance. Turning to traffic and revenue performance. Quarter demonstrated continued strength in underlying portfolio. AUM weighted average traffic was 9.1% against 4.1% projected in valuation report. The performance was broad-based with the several of our larger assets recording healthy traffic growth. NTEPL, GEPL, UTPL, GRICL, Ahmedabad-Mehsana and Bareni-Nelial were amongst the assets that performed strongly during the quarter. At DBCPL, Dewas-Bhopal, commercial vehicle traffic was impacted in April and May due to weaker industrial activity in Chhatarpur region, partly linked to Middle East conflict. However, we see the recovery beginning in the June, continuing July on this stretch. At GRICLBH, traffic was affected by diversion following the commissioning of Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in April 2026. While this impact was already part of the valuation assumption, the impact and magnitude of diversion have resulted in upfronting of the impact. Similarly, STPL-NI has experienced diversion following the commissioning of Suryapet-Khammam-Devarpally Greenfield Highway in April 2026. Again, the impact was incorporated in valuation assumptions. Overall, we remain comfortable with our operating performance of the portfolio and believe first quarter traffic output provides positive start to the year. Moving to the next slide. HAM realization status. As mentioned in the highlights, during the quarter 1, we received 9 annuity payments aggregating to INR 4.36 billion ahead of schedule by 6.1 days. This performance is particularly encouraging given the significant expansion of our HAM portfolio following the acquisition of 11 HAM assets in FY 2025, 2026. The ability of these assets to realize contracted cash flow in timely manner remains important contributor to overall stability of vertical distribution profile. Now I will move to balance sheet and debt position, slide 9. As on June 30, Vertis had a gross debt of INR 114 billion, with net debt to AEOS ratio of 40.65%. The average cost of debt was approximately 7.3%, which continues to remain lowest amongst scaled InvITs. During the quarter, we raised INR 7 billion rupee loan from international bank, Crédit Agricole, at a very competitive rate to refinance existing facility, which resulted in reduction of overall cost of debt by 3 basis points. This is also an important factor in further diversifying our funding sources. Going forward, our approach will continue to focus on diversifying funding sources, managing the cost of debt while ensuring adequate liquidity and debt headroom for future acquisition. Moving to the next slide on distribution. The Trust declared distribution to the tune of INR 3.25 per unit, equivalent to INR 4.91 billion for quarter one. With this distribution, cumulative distribution stands at INR 16.34 per unit. Now, before concluding, let me also brief upon a few important industry and regulatory developments. NHAI monetization program continues to provide potential avenue for future growth. Under NMP 2, NHAI has identified 16 assets aggregating 1,631 kilometers that may be offered through TOT route or to NHIT during FY 2027. On multi-lane free flow, MLFF, NHAI has commenced the pilot implementation at five toll plazas, with a total 25 toll plazas to be implemented for FY 2026. At this stage, actual performance data is not yet available; therefore, financial and operational implication for tolling operations remain to be assessed for MLFF. On regulatory side, there has been amendment to NDCF framework relating to debt-funded major maintenance expenditure released in August 14, 2026. Currently, the major maintenance expenditure funded through external borrowings is not eligible to added back in NDCF calculation. The proposed change would provide greater flexibility in funding the major maintenance requirement while reducing the impact on distributable cash flows. To conclude, Q1 FY 2027 has been a strong quarter for Vertis. We delivered traffic growth of 9.1%. Our annuity portfolio continued to deliver contracted cash flows ahead of schedule. We further diversified our debt profile and by optimizing the cost of debt by 3 basis points. Importantly, we continue to maintain a diversified portfolio across the toll, downside protected toll annuity assets, supported by strong operating platform and disciplined financial management. We remain grateful for trust placed in us, committed to compounding infrastructure capital responsibly over long-term. With that, I would like to thank all the investors, shareholder for their continued confidence in Vertis. Now I am happy to take any questions. Thank you very much. We will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and then one on their touchtone phone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and then two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking your question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Again, to register for a question, please press star and then one. Participants, if you wish to register for a question, please press star and then one now. Participants, if you wish to ask a question, you may press star and then one now. A reminder to all the participants, if you wish to ask a question, you may press star and then one. A reminder to everyone, to ask a question, you may press star and then one. Sagar, can we conclude the call? Sure. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing remarks. Thank you everyone for joining this call. For any further questions you want to ask, please feel free to get in touch with us. Thank you very much. Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of Vertis Infrastructure Trust, that concludes this conference. Thank you everyone for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.
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