Malini BhuptaMoneycontrol
Despite a month-long period in November when toll collection was suspended across highways, integrated roads operator IRB Infrastructure Developers sees no adverse impact of demonetisation on toll revenues. Daily toll collection across 14 of its operational road projects rose 3 percent to Rs 7.79 crore in December 2016 compared to Rs 7.53 crore it clocked in October. The stock was up 3.14 percent on Thursday following the stock exchange announcement.
In an interview to Moneycontrol.com, Virendra Mhaiskar, Chairman and Managing Director of IRB Infrastructure talks about the headway made by digital payments. Edited excerpts:
Daily road tolling in December has grown at 3% compared to October — the month prior to demonetisation. What does this suggest?
This clearly suggests that the situation is getting normalised and there is no adverse impact of demonetisation on our toll collection.
Is the pain of cash crunch over or it that people have switched to other forms of digital payments?
It’s a good mix of both. We have observed that toll payment by users through cashless options has gone up.
Do you accept digital modes of payment at all your tolling road projects?
Yes. We are accepting debit/credit cards, payment through mobile wallets, etc. Also, toll payment through RFID ETC tags is in place.
What is the share of digital payments at present?
It is around 15 percent on an average.
Do you expect this ratio to change? How are commuters paying — debit cards, mobile wallets or other digital forms?
As mentioned above, it’s a good mix of both cash as well as cashless options. We see use of cashless options likely to go up in future.
What about traffic — a lot of fleet operators have been grounded due to cash crunch?
The hike of 3 percent in toll collection over October 2016 is self-explanatory to analyse the ground realities after taking seasonality into consideration.
Can you share details on how you expect IRB Infra’s revenues to be impacted in the December quarter due to demonetisation?
As mentioned above, the toll collection has already registered growth. To add further, the loss of revenue during the toll exemption span of time is going to be compensated from the respective authorities.
Will the effects of demonetisation have a lingering effect on Q4FY17 and FY18?
As far as our operations are concerned, we see it as normal and there will not be any adverse impact.
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