GMR Airports Ltd, the operator of Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa airports, is looking to raise between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 6,000 crore to refinance its debt, sources have told Moneycontrol.
The airport operator is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to raise fresh debt, which will be used to repay the existing higher cost debt.
Sources said GMR Airports is likely tap mutual funds to raise a substantial part of the new debt, as in the recent case of Jubilant group promoters, the Bhartia family.
The Jubilant Group’s promoters raised around Rs 5,650 crore from mutual funds through non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to finance their 40 percent stake purchase in Hindustan Coca Cola Holdings, the parent of Coca-Cola’s largest bottling business in India.
Morgan Stanley was also the adviser to the Jubilant promoters. The structure of the GMR Airports deal is still being worked upon and final contours could change, sources said.
Emails sent to GMR Airports and Morgan Stanley did not elicit a response till the time of publication.
The debt
GMR Airports’ standalone net debt at the listed company level, excluding the airport subsidiaries, was at approximately Rs 5,700 crore as of March 31, 2025.
Consolidated net debt, including the debt at its operating airports such as Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi and Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, stood at approximately Rs 31,500 crore.
Sources said strong growth in passenger traffic, revised tariffs, improving non-aero revenue streams and credit rating upgrades means that the group is well placed to raise new debt at better terms.
Non-aero revenue comes from retail outlets, food and beverage, parking, advertising and other commercial services within an airport.
In its earnings call for Q4 FY25, the management highlighted that it is making progress on developing the airport adjacency business, with the long-term strategy of converting GMR Airports into a consumer business with the underpinnings of a utility company.
It will start operating the IGI airport duty-free concession from July 25 and do the same at the Hyderabad airport later in the second quarter, the management said.
“The current financial (year) GMR Airports has closed with a turnover of about Rs 1,200 crore, with EBITDA about Rs 600 crore, which will substantially go up the next financial year because of adding of the duty-free business and EBITDA also will substantially go up,” the company’s management told analysts about earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation.
The management said GMR Airport’s combined non-aero revenue at Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa rose 13 percent year-on-year in Q4 and for the full FY25 as well.
GMR operated airports have also seen an improvement in the credit profile lately, with Standard and Poor's upgraded the IGI airport to BB from BB-, while Fitch moved it to BB+. Moody's upgraded credit ratings of the Hyderabad airport from BA1 to BA2.
“The expected improvement of financials in FY26 will further improve ratings and costs,” the management said during the earnings call.
In FY25, passenger traffic increased 9 percent year-on-year to 120.5 million for the group.
Domestic passenger traffic grew 9 percent year-on-year, while international traffic grew 11 percent in Q4 FY25.
Consolidated interest and finance costs for the company grew by 26.5 percent to Rs 3,705 crore in FY25, while consolidated EBITDA grew by 22.5 percent to Rs 4,188 crore.
It reported a consolidated loss of Rs 817 crore during the year, a tad lower than Rs 829 crore in the previous fiscal.
The company also operates Goa’s Manohar International Airport and Medan airport in Indonesia. It is building an international airport in Bhogapuram in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam and another in the Greek tourist island of Crete.
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