GMR Infra becomes India’s first pure-play airports listed company

GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GIL), which operates Delhi and Hyderabad airports and is constructing several others, on Tuesday became India’s first pure play airports listed company. The infra major has de-merged its other non-airport verticals like power from GMR Infra as GMR Power and Urban Infrastructure Limited (GPUIL). 

“The existing shareholders of GMR Infra will receive one equity share of Rs 5 (face value) eac3h of GMR Power and Urban Infra Limited for holding 10 equity shares of Re 1(face value) share of each GMR Infra Ltd. The demerger happened through a vertical split and resulted in listed companies – GIL and GPUIL and mirror shareholding of the both. All the existing shareholders of GIL will become shareholders of GPUIL in the same proportion. GPUIL shares will start trading independently on the stock exchange in February 2022 after approvals from SEBI/stock exchanges,” GMR Group said in a statement.

“GIL becomes the only pure-play airports platform with strong cash flow generation potential (in India). According to CAPA, GMR Infrastructure is world’s second largest private airport operator after France’s VINCI Airports. It is the only Indian airport developer having strongest international presence,” it added. 

GIL’s airport portfolio has around 18.2 crore per annum passenger capacity (pre-Covid) in operation and under development. The operating airports include: IGIA in Delhi, RGIA in Hyderabad, Mactan Cebu International Airport in Philippines (in partnership with Megawide) and Medan Airport, Indonesia (with Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura II). 

The greenfield projects under development include Mopa in Goa and Heraklion International Airport in Crete, Greece, (in partnership with GEK Terna). It will build Bhogapuram greenfield airport in Andhra Pradesh. It has also signed the concession agreement to commission, operationalise and maintain the civilian enclave at the Bidar Airport in north Karnataka.

GMR Infra spurts on buzz Group will expand Hyderabad airport

GMR Infrastructure surged 10.65% to Rs 43.65 on reports that GMR Group will invest Rs 6,300 crore in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport to expand the aerodrome's capacity to 34 million passengers per annum by 2024.

The media reported that funds for the expansion have been secured and most part of the finance is through bonds issuance.

Recently, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) allowed GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), which manages Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, to gradually increase user development fee (UDF) on embarking domestic as well as international passengers from 1 April 2022.

The AERA allowed GMR Hyderabad International Airport to increase UDF from the existing Rs 281 to Rs 480 and Rs 393 to Rs 700 for domestic and international passengers respectively from 1 April 2022. Similarly, the charges will be enhanced up to Rs 750 for domestic and Rs 1500 for international passengers by 31 December 2025. However, the charges will be reduced to Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 for domestic and international passengers for the last three months of the Control period.

GHIAL is a company promoted as a joint venture comprising the GMR Group (63%) in partnership with Airports Authority of India (AAI) (13%), Government of Telangana (13%) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (11%).

GHIAL was mandated to design, finance, build and operate Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad as a world class Greenfield airport on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Currently Hyderabad Airport handles over 21 million passengers and around 148,000 tons of cargo annually and serves 17 International destinations through 21 International and 3 Indian passenger carriers and has 8 domestic carriers operating to around 53 domestic destinations. In addition to the above, 5 cargo airlines operate dedicated freighter services from Hyderabad Airport.

On a consolidated basis, GMR Infrastructure reported net loss of Rs 317.91 crore in Q1 June 2021 as against net loss of Rs 833.87 crore in Q1 June 2020. Net sales rose 49.89% to Rs 1508.58 crore in Q1 June 2021 over Q1 June 2020.

GMR Infrastructure is a leading global infrastructure conglomerate with interests in airport, energy, transportation and urban infrastructure.

Source