HCC plans to pare debt by Rs 1,000 crore by March 2016 through proceeds recently raised from a qualified institutional placement (QIP), asset monetisation and arbitration claims.

Praveen Sood, chief financial officer, HCC,  said about half, or Rs 200 crore of the Rs 400 crore, raised by the company through QIP earlier in April will be used towards debt repayment. “We plan to further reduce debt by Rs 800 crore during the course of the year through proceeds that we receive from arbitration claims and asset monetisation,” Sood told Fe.

HCC’s net debt as of March 31, 2015 stood at Rs 5,000 crore, an increase of Rs 200 crore from the beginning of the financial year. Finance cost for the full year stood at Rs 651 crore, up from nearly Rs 608 crore last year. HCC started servicing its CDR obligations in January 2014, and the company has repaid Rs 400 crore till April 15, 2015 of the Rs 3,500-crore CDR package approved for it, Sood said.

Sood said the company has Rs 2,220-crore worth of claims awarded in its favour through arbitration, of which Rs 370 crore have been received by the company till the end of FY15. “We are hopeful of early settlements of more claims during the year,” he said.

As part of its asset monetisation plans, HCC in FY15 sold Nirmal BOT, an annuity road project in Telangana, for Rs 64 crore, to Highway Concession One, an entity held by IDFC Alternatives-managed India Infrastructure Fund.

Earlier this month, the company also sold its stake in the Dhule Palesner Tollway project to joint venture partner in the project Sadbhav Group, for Rs 204 crore.

Sood reiterated that the company’s plans to sell 26% stake in 247 HCC Park in Vikhroli are on track, and due diligence is currently on for the project by prospective buyers. He refused to divulge further details.

On Thursday, the company posted a standalone net profit of Rs 20.65 crore, a fall of 15% y-o-y for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, due to due to lower income from operations. Standalone total income of the company came in 3% lower y-o-y at Rs 1,120 crore. HCC’s Ebidta margin, however, stood at 17.2% compared to 14.8% last year on the back of efficient project management and tight cost control. Operating profit was up 12.5% y-o-y to Rs 192 crore.

For the full year ended March 31, 2015, net profit remained flat at Rs 81.6 crore due to lower income from operations while total income was up a mere 2.4% y-o-y to Rs 4,135 crore. HCC’s current order book stood at Rs 14,451 crore, excluding L1 contracts worth Rs 3,435 crore, at the end of FY15.

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