Reliance Infrastructure, an arm of Reliance Group, is aiming to conclude the sales of its cement and roads portfolios by the end of March, and raise around Rs 14,000 crore, a top company official said on Wednesday. The sale of the company’s cement business, Reliance Cement, which is pegged to fetch a valuation of close to Rs 5,000 crore, is expected to close by January end, Lalit Jalan, CEO, Reliance Infrastructure, told reporters at its third quarter earnings conference.
As for the roads portfolio, Jalan said the company has received interest from 10 international bidders and will receive non-binding bids by the end of January. “We have received interest from long-term pension funds, strategic and financial investors and we should be signing detailed documents by the end of March,” Jalan said. The company has a portfolio of 11 road assets with investments of around Rs 8,800 crore in the business, 100% owned. The projects of around 1,000 km are spread across seven states.
Jalan said the company’s consolidated debt stands at Rs 28,000 crore, and the company is planing to become debt-free on a standalone basis by March 2017.
Reliance Infra posted a moderate y-o-y increase in net profit for October-December at Rs 463 crore, on account of an increase of Rs 45 crore in share of profits in associates. Total operating income, however, came in lower by 10% y-o-y at Rs 3932.51 crore, due to a sharp fall in EPC revenues.
