
Shares of Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd (IRFC) are in focus on Wednesday morning after the railway PSU said it has emerged as the L1 bidder for financing Rs 3,167 crore for the development of the Banhardih Coal Block in Latehar district of Jharkhand.
The project is being undertaken by Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (PVUNL), a joint venture between NTPC Ltd (74 per cent equity stake) and Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (26 per cent equity stake).
"The Banhardih coal block has been allocated to PVUNL as a captive coal source. Coal from the block will be transported to Chetar Station via Mine-Gain-Rail (MGR) and then to PVUNL's project site using Indian Railways," IRFC told stock exchanges.
On Tuesday, IRFC shares climbed 6.16 per cent to settle at Rs 136.35 on NSE. The stock has plunged 41 per cent from its 52-week high of Rs 229.05. This has sharply cut its one-year return to 4.8 per cent. Kotak Institutional Equities in a January 13 note finds IRFC among PSUs that trade at extremely high market caps relative to their profits, net worth or assets.
On January 2, the public sector enterprise, under the Ministry of Railways, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with REMC to collaborate on financing Renewable Energy (RE) projects awarded by REMCL for supply to Indian Railways. The partnership extends to exploring financing options for Thermal, Nuclear, and Renewable power projects established under a Captive model through joint ventures involving Indian Railways and other entities.
In a filing to BSE, IRFC said: "The collaboration aims to harness renewable energy sources for the railway sector. Under the MOU, REMCL will provide its expertise in procuring economical Conventional/Renewable power for Railways including conducting of Bidding process for setting up Renewable Energy (RE) Projects in the power sector, while IRFC will offer its financial acumen, including project appraisal and fundraising capabilities," IRFC told BSE.
The board of directors of the company will meet on Monday, January 20, to consider and approve the financial results and cash flow statement for the quarter and nine months ended December 31.