Ladies and gentlemen, you have been connected to Ashoka Buildcon Concall. Please stay connected; the call will begin shortly. Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Ashoka Buildcon 3Q FY 2026 conference call hosted by IIFL Capital. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes.
Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star then zero on your touch-tone phone. And now, over to Mr. Mudit Bhandari from IIFL Capital. Thank you, and over to you, Mr. Mudit Bhandari.
Thank you so much, Ikra. Good afternoon, everybody. On behalf of IIFL Capital, I welcome you all to the Q3 FY 2026 Earnings Conference Call of Ashoka Buildcon Limited. From the management, we have Mr. Satish Parakh, Managing Director, and Mr. Paresh Mehta, Chief Financial Officer. With this, I would request Mr. Satish Parakh to start with his opening comments, and then we can open floor for questions and answers. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Mudit. Good afternoon, everyone. I welcome you all to the Q3 nine months FY 2026 Earnings Conference Call of Ashoka Buildcon Limited. Thank you for taking out the time to join us as we share our operational and financial updates for the quarter and nine months ended 31st December 2025. Joining me on this call is our CFO, Mr. Paresh Mehta, and Investor Relations Partner.
Sorry to interrupt, sir. Your voice is breaking. We are unable to hear you properly.
Okay. So along with me, I'm having our CFO, Mr. Paresh Mehta, and our Investor Relations Partner from SGA.
Sorry, sir. We are unable to hear you. Your voice is breaking.
Is it clear now?
No, still the same, sir.
No more, sir, in there. So joining me on this call are our CFO, Mr. Paresh Mehta, and our Investor Relations Partners from SGA. Am I clear now?
No, sir. We can use the backup line. Please mute this line, and I will help you.
I'll leave the backup. Just hold on.
Yeah, yeah.
We'll leave the backup line.
So backup line is unmuted from my side. You can speak from.
Hello, sir. Can you hear?
Yes, sir. We can hear you.
Can you hear me now?
Yes, sir.
Okay.
I'll begin from the beginning. Thank you, Mudit. Good afternoon, everyone. I welcome you all to the Q3 nine months FY 2026 Earnings Conference Call of Ashoka Buildcon Limited. Thank you for taking out time to join us for these operational and financial updates for the quarter and nine months ended 31st December 2025. Joining me on this call are our CFO, Mr. Paresh Mehta, and our Investor Relations Partner from SGA. The Indian highway sector is currently navigating a phase of major transition where the emphasis is gradually shifting from rapid expansion to quality, sustainability, and capital efficiency.
While near-term activity levels reflect moderation, the medium to long-term structural outlook for the sector remains intact. The awarding activity by the central agencies has remained subdued for the past two years, and in this financial year, the highway construction is expected to drop by 10%-15% to 9,000-9,500 km from 10,660 km in 2024-2025. The construction of national highways this financial year will be lowest since 2017-2018. That said, there are several signs of improvement also.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and NHAI have consciously recalibrated their focus to corridor-boost development, access control highways, and expressways. Under this approach, the government is targeting approximately 11,000 km by FY 2027 and 15,000 km by FY 2032, up from 3,000 km currently, reflecting a sharper focus on economic productivity, safety, logistics efficiency rather than sheer scale. At the same time, the government's focus on financial prudence at NHAI continues.
INR 35,000-40,000 crore is expected for monetization of road assets in FY 2026 by NHAI, which will be used for supporting new investments without materially increasing the public sector leverage. An important positive development for the sector is renewed push towards PPP models. Against this backdrop, Ashoka aims to leverage its strong execution capabilities, prudent capital management, and experience across EPC, HAM, and BOT assets monetization models remain well-positioned to navigate the cycle and participate in the next phase of growth.
Now, let me take you through some of the key developments during the period. We began with significant portfolio monetization milestone in November 2025. Ashoka Concessions Limited completed the sale of its entire stake in five BOT SPVs to Maple Infrastructure Trust and its nominees. The transaction was concluded for an aggregate consideration of INR 1,814 crore and marks an important step in unlocking value from mature assets.
I'm pleased to announce that this led to a significant reduction in our consolidated debt from INR 4,910 crores in September to INR 2,722 crores in December 2025, and aligns with our strategic move towards deleveraging, thus reducing interest costs and strengthening our balance sheet. Following this, Ashoka Buildcon Limited acquired equity shares in Ashoka Concessions Limited, and Ashoka Buildcon, together with Viva Highways Limited, acquired the remaining Class A and Class B CCDs held by the investors.
This was done for an aggregate consideration of INR 667 crores, resulting in a full acquisition of securities previously held by Macquarie SBI Infrastructure Funds. This transaction consolidates our control and simplifies the ownership structure of ACL, which is now 100% subsidiary of Ashoka Buildcon. On the project execution front, two major letters of acceptance were received from BMC through joint ventures.
The Ashoka Aakshaya JV secured Mithi River development and allied work projects valued at INR 1,816 crores excluding GST. The project includes a 48-month design and build phase, followed by 10 years of O&M. In addition, the Ashoka Aakshaya JV received a LOA for a flyover construction project worth INR 1,041 crores, including GST, with a 24-month execution timeline.
Ashoka has also secured an additional scope of work order from the BMC toward the existing Sion Panvel Highway flyover project amounting to INR 447 crores, including taxes, reflecting continued confidence in our execution capabilities. Lastly, we received an LOA from the Public Works Department in Daman for the construction of a signature bridge connecting Jampore Seafront to Devka Seafront. This project is valued at INR 307.7 crores, excluding GST, with a completion timeline of 30 months.
Coming to the order book status, the company has received four new project orders, including one additional work order, as discussed above from BMC and Daman Public Works Department. As on 31st December 2025, our balance order book stands at INR 15,927 crores. This is excluding orders received post-31st December 2025 of INR 308 crores. So as on today, it is INR 16,235 crores of balance order book. Roads and railway projects comprise around INR 10,292 crores, which is 65% of the total order book.
Among the road projects order book, HAM projects are to the tune of INR 1,705 crores. EPC road projects are to the tune of INR 7,025 crores, and railway is around INR 1,562 crores. Power T&D accounts for around INR 5,108 crores, which is approximately 32.1% of the total order book. Total EPC building segment is to the tune of INR 528 crores, which is 3.3% of the total order book.
Our primary focus remains on maintaining a substantial EPC business in segments of roads, highways, railways, power transmission distribution, as well as buildings. I now request Mr. Paresh Mehta, CFO, to present the financial performance. Thank you.
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Starting with the standalone numbers for Q3 FY 2026, total income stood at INR 1,492 crores as compared to INR 1,816 crores in Q3 FY 2025, a degrowth of 18%. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 157 crores, a degrowth of 16% year- on- year, with an EBITDA margin of 10.6% and improvement by 30 basis points year- on- year. Profit before tax, before exceptional items, stood at INR 50 crores. Overall PAT stood at INR 102 crores against INR 61 crores during Q3 FY 2025, up by 68% year- on- year.
Our revenue contribution for each segment for quarter three FY 2026 is as follows: Road EPC 51.9%, Road EPC HAM 13.2%, Power T&D 21.9%, Railways 9%, and other segments 4%. For nine months FY 2026 standalone, total income stood at INR 4,134 crores as compared to INR 5,175 crores in nine months FY 2025, a degrowth of 20%.
EBITDA for nine months FY 2026 stood at INR 468 crores, down 5% year-on-year, with an EBITDA margin of 11.3% and improvement over FY 2025 of 180 bps. Profit before tax, before exceptional items, stood at INR 150 crores, and PAT stood at INR 272 crores as compared to INR 138 crores in nine months FY 2025, up by 97% year-on-year.
Coming to the consolidated results, total income for Q3 FY 2026 stood at INR 1,866 crores as compared to INR 2,426 crores in Q3 FY 2025, registering a 23% degrowth. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 474 crores, down by 30% year-on-year, with an EBITDA margin of 25.4%. Profit before tax, before exceptional items, stood at INR 233 crores. PAT stood at INR 2,111 crores during Q3 FY 2026. Total consolidated as on 31st December 2025 stood at INR 2,722 crores, down from INR 4,910 crores.
The standalone debt is at INR 1,046 crores, which comprises INR 79 crores on equipment loan, INR 300 crores on NCDs, and INR 667 crores on working capital loans. In Q3 FY 2026, in our BOT division, the company recorded a total gross toll collection of INR 773 crores from Jaora- Nayagaon Toll Road Company. With this, we now open the floor for question and answers. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use headsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Vaibhav Shah from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Sir, on the EBITDA margin side, we saw some impact on Q3, and also other expenditure was quite high at INR 71 crore. So is there any one-off and why the margins were lower on a Q-o-Q basis?
On a Q-o-Q basis, that means the EBITDA stood at approximately 9%, which is almost equal to that. It's more an impact of a lower turnover and coverage of the fixed overhead, which are there. Otherwise, I think so they are uncertain.
On a Q-o-Q basis, your turnover was higher?
Yeah. There was ECL provision, which has increased the other expenses.
What is the quantum of the provision?
25 crores.
What is it regarding to INR 25 crore?
Maybe I'll come back to it.
Okay. Okay. Sir, secondly, how do you see the margin going ahead in Q4 and FY 2027?
So as we have been saying, the margins will improve over the quarters as we go ahead. Q4, 2026 would typically remain similar, but 2026, 2027 definitely will be in the range of 9%-9.5% plus.
We don't see that double-digit margin yet in 2027. Are you targeting around 10%- 10.5%, 11% in 2027?
Yes. I mean, yeah. So we'll see as the quarter goes, quarter-over-quarter, what we believe the bids which are there, the pipeline which is there, will throw approximately 10%-10.5%. I'm being a bit conservative.
Okay. Secondly, on the overall revenue side, we have seen quite weak numbers in the first nine months. So how do you see the revenue for 2026, and what will be the guidance for 2027?
So 26, probably based on current order book and the way the projects are moving, the new projects having started a bit late, we believe that we will probably may not be able to achieve last year's revenue, and we'd be probably short by approximately 8%-10%. But going ahead for 2026, 2027, we definitely believe that 15% growth would be there or 15% growth was there over 2026.
Given the lower base of 2026, so even if we grow at 15%, will it be still lower than our 2024 and 2025 revenue numbers? So do you see scope of higher growth?
Yes. It will also depend on certain new projects which we are buying for and order book which will come. Then probably we'll do a better number, definitely.
Okay. Lastly, on the order inflow side, so what would be our order inflow in terms of EPC value for YTD FY 2026?
Year to date, approximately INR 5,200 crores is the order book flow for EPC in nine months and another INR 307 crores which has come post-December.
So what are you targeting for the entire year?
So we believe that we should, keeping in these three months, two months available, around INR 3,000 crore order book should come in with probably NHAI also pushing their biddings probably in the last two months. I think 3,000 should be an easy number to achieve for a new order in book.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. Those are all my questions.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavin Modi from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thank you for providing me the opportunity. Couple of questions from my side. Sir, first, I saw your order book details, and there were a few of the slow-moving projects like Kundalika, Jaigad, Bankot, Gaimukh Payegaon. So how are we looking in terms of accelerating the speed of execution?
These projects basically are suffering in terms of land acquisition, and probably this would get over in another quarter. Next year, we'll see a good pickup in all these projects.
Okay. Okay. Sir, second, in terms of the appointed date for Guskara, Bowaichandi, so when it is expected?
We expect in February, we should get an appointed date for this EGR.
What actually took it so long? Because I think we completed the financial closure two quarters back.
Yes, we completed financial closure, but land acquisition is still very difficult in West Bengal. Now, this will pick up only in these two months. That is what they have promised by February, they should be able to award us.
Understood. Sir, third point was, sir, there are two things in the BOT assets we sold. One was the holdback amount, and second is the contingent consideration. So when are we what is the quantification in terms of the holdback amount and the contingent consideration, and what are the expected timelines?
On the holdback amounts, in the HAM, we have approximately INR 96 crore of holdback, and in the BOT project, approximately INR 50 crore. We expect both these numbers to materialize before March, all the compliances or whatever actions to be taken. So I think so around February, between February and March, we should get those moneys released along with the sale of at least four of the six assets before March.
Okay. Sir, what about the contingent consideration? There was some INR 500 crore of BOT.
Yeah. The contingent consideration is a consideration linked to extension of concession period, which will take approximately a year, one to two years for it to materialize with NHI. Once the period is frozen, at that time, the moneys will be released. It will be based on how NHI uses the extension for no traffic as per concession agreement.
But right now, we cannot zero in on any number, right, sir? Because that will only be when we will come to once the NHAI used the approval for the extension.
Right. Right.
Sir, one point was, sir, you created some impairment for certain subsidiary loans in your financials. So what is this which is the subsidiary loan, and what is the loan amount?
Largely, this is we have floated a subsidiary in Saudi for businesses in the Middle East where we have incurred establishment expenses of around INR 37 crore, which is taken as an impairment. We are looking at business. Being prudent, we have presently impaired it. As soon as we get business, probably this amount will get reversed. This is the initial establishment expenses for the office established for overseas projects.
Okay. Okay. Sir, and last question from my end. These are regarding two things. One is the timeline and the amount for the balance six assets to be monetized. And second is, sir, the NHI, the matter which of subsidies we got actually, you can say, the immunity from the court. But where is the where is the matter now at present?
It's a status quo. Still, there is a stay from the court, and we are bidding NHAI projects, all of the projects. There is no impact on the business as such.
Okay. But do we have any action from the NHAI, or has it gone to any disciplinary committee, the thing? So what is the state health with that?
From the committee and work in progress, there will be a series of meetings, and then decision will be taken.
Okay. As our standard.
The last.
Yeah. Yeah. Sir, and the last question about the monetization of the balance six assets. What are the timelines, and what are the amount that we can expect?
Yes. So for the monetization of the six HAM projects which are yet with us, four of the HAM projects we expect to monetize by March, approximately INR 600-INR 750 crores plus. And the last two projects, approximately INR 400 crores by June 26th.
Okay. Good. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, a reminder to all, if you wish to ask a question, please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Aditya Sahu from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.
Hi, sir. Thanks a lot for the opportunity. On the bidding part that you mentioned, sir, if you can help us on what is the current bid pipeline that we have?
Current bid pipeline for NHAI is around INR 65,000 crore, and the cost would have INR 20,000 crore.
20,000 crores.
Yeah.
Okay. Understood, sir. And just one other question would be on the HAM equity investment. What would be the amount that we have invested till date, and what are we planning how much is the amount that we would invest going forward?
On the equity investment balance for the current HAM portfolio, approximately INR 320 crore is balanced, of which largely INR 220 crore is for the new HAM project, Bowaichandi, and balance is for the TS3 and TS4, that is, Tumkur, Shivamogga, three and four balance equity to be invested.
Okay. Okay.
Which will be invested in the period of INR 180 crore by March 2026, 2026-2027 INR 72 crore, and 2027-2028 INR 72 crore.
Okay. INR 180 crore by March 26th and INR 70 crore.
March or June 2026. I mean, it all depends on how Bowaichandi, what do you call it, appointed date is declared.
Okay. Understood, sir. Understood. Thanks, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mudit Bhandari from IIFL Capital Services Limited. Please go ahead. Mudit, sir, your line is unmuted. Please proceed with your question.
Hi, sir. Out of the total order book of around INR 15,900 crores, so how much is executable? I mean, how much is any pending clearance, including appointed date or any other clearances?
This entire is executable. We already received appointed date, and work is in progress on all the projects.
Sir, but even if we'll, let's say, look at last quarter order book, so we are not able to execute in terms of reported numbers from revenue. So is there any other challenge?
So, as I explained earlier, these five projects of bridges are stuck up due to land acquisition. They are slow-moving. So we expect them by quarter one, we should be able to pick up on all these projects. And Bowaichandi project, which we explained to you, we have to get the appointed date. So that we are expecting in February. So March onwards, we should be able to carry out work on this project also.
Understood, sir. From comparing Q- on- Q, from 2Q to 3Q, how has the payment been from NHAI side or from Discoms side across all our sectors?
Payment-wise, there is not much issue either at NHI level or Discom level. Discoms are also funded from central funds. So payment-wise, there is not an issue. Execution-wise, there have been challenges, and that is how the order book is a little slower.
Got it, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vasudev from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for the opportunity, sir, and congratulations on the monetization of the BOT assets. So, sir, while most of the questions are answered, just a few housekeeping kind of questions. So these five BOT assets which we sold, what was the enterprise value and the equity value of these assets?
So enterprise value was equity value was approximately INR 2,400 crore, INR 2,300 crore, against which there was a debt of almost INR 2,500 crore. So enterprise was approximately INR 5,000 crore+, 5,600, 700. So the debt has already been excluded from the sale now. And out of the total equity of INR 2,300 crore, we have already realized INR 1,750 crore, and balance will be realized over a period of time, including contingent consideration.
Sure, sir. So now, after these monetizations, and even we are hopeful of monetizing four other HAM assets, so by end of FY 2026, where do we see our debt levels?
Once we monetize four assets also, we should see our debt levels by March or April. If there are certain debts, like the NCDs which are payable in April, considering that also as paid, we should be in the range of INR 2-300 crores.
Okay. Sure, sir. And lastly, what is the CapEx that we did in Q3, and how much are we planning for Q4?
So for Q3, the CapEx was approximately INR 15 crores. We expect another INR 25 crores in Q4 to take it to around INR 75 crores-INR 80 crores for the year.
Okay. Sure, sir. That's it from my side. Thank you, and all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to all, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Vaibhav Shah from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Sir, so do we expect any further ECL provisions in Q4?
ECL, generally, are largely its time-related provision for payments which are slightly delayed. So we believe that recovery will happen by March, so I don't think so large impact may be there for Q4.
Okay. Sir, secondly, you mentioned about the Saudi establishment expenses. So when did we incur those expenses, and why did we write it off so early?
So this expenditure is being incurred since last one and half years for the establishment. We are bidding for projects. Unfortunately, they are not bad. From a conservative view, because there was no order book at that office, we took a decision of making an impairment of it, probably as soon as we expect a few orders in the next month or so, four to five weeks. Once that happens, then maybe for post-Q1 FY 2027, we'll be able to reverse those impairments.
What segments are we targeting from Saudi, which verticals?
We are all type of infrastructure, roads, power, and buildings.
Okay. Sir, secondly, our PBT was around INR 50 crore for the quarter. So what was the adjusted PAT? The reported PAT is INR 102 crore. So what was the adjusted PAT for the quarter?
I didn't follow up. INR 50 crore?
Adjusted path?
50 crore is the PBT. So basically, we're trying to figure out what was the tax expense for the quarter, both on the normal operations and on the exceptional item. Before exceptional item, the profit was INR 50 crore, which is approximately similar to I mean, almost on the same edge of Q2 also, slightly maybe.
Tax was negligible for the quarter?
Right. INR 57 crore for Q2.
Tax was negligible for the quarter, tax amount?
Tax amount was negligible because of the deferred tax reversal of the provisions which we made for impairments.
Okay. Okay. Important. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Kumar from Determined Investments. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Hi, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I'm looking at. I'm sort of invested, new to the entire domain of this entire EPC and project business. So my apologies upfront if this is a sort of silly question to begin with. But you're sort of de-leveraging the balance sheet. You've already done a lot in the first nine quarters. You're still sort of looking to further sell assets. And at a point in time where either the new project pipeline is like you sort of said that this year has been fairly soft, you're obviously expecting some improvement next year.
And even your existing projects are slow-moving. I'm just sort of trying to understand because EPC business was seemingly it involves a fair bit of debt any which ways in terms of working capital, basically. So when you're basically sort of selling those assets, I'm just sort of trying to understand the balance sheet build-up that you're sort of looking to do. What is the sort of purpose of that? And isn't the balance sheet as it sort of stands today sort of already support your future plans?
So see, sir, there are two strategies which we have. One is the development projects which we have, which we are monetizing and bringing cash in. This typically gives us an opportunity to look at future development projects also, like projects under solar or projects under BOT. Now, the balance sheet being as it is around almost a net worth of +INR 4,000 crores and monetization of these assets and de-leveraging the debt to the extent of almost in the range of INR 2-300 crores only or maybe as good as nil. I think so we're trying to make the balance sheet a bit leaner.
Yeah. But you are also I mean, the projects that you have on your balance sheet, right? I mean, there is always a construction risk, a whole bunch of risk during the construction period in a project. Now, you have sort of executed these projects. We are now sort of starting to throw cash.
So I mean, let's even assume that fourth quarter, basically, these four assets that you're looking to sell, that happens NCD also, you sort of pay back in April, and you sort of get to an INR 300 crore sort of debt number, which is for the size of your company, I mean, that's INR 5,000 crore, INR 6,000 crore kind of top-line company that's actually quite small. So is there any need to basically further sell the assets that you have or at least sell them sort of strategically?
I mean, if you are sort of bidding for some huge project, then maybe you might need to sort of sell some assets to basically fund it on that side. But let's say beyond March or beyond April, is there sort of any need to basically sell additional projects? As you have indicated in the past, that you're pretty much selling everything. I don't think that you're planning to keep any operational either HAM or BOT or whatever projects on your books, basically. Is there any need to do that? That's my point.
So there is a lot of demand for assets, and there is a good arbitrage in selling these assets. These assets may be giving us an IRR of 15%-17%. And the kind of projects which are acquired by buyers were largely financial institutions or private equity funds or pension funds. They are generally discounting these cash flows at 10%-12%.
Makes sense in cashing them out and use this money for newer projects, which will bring an EPC order book also, plus another asset with, say, 15%-17% IRR, which again will have an opportunity to flip to a new buyer. So this probably is the model of every EPC contractor come developer. It should be going at also that you create assets, hold for a couple of years, mature it, and flip it to an investor who's happy with a 10%-12% IRR.
So that's exactly my point. And see, this I mean, first of all, your existing projects are for a 15%-16% IRR. They are fairly safe cash flows. So execute [Foreign language] They are running, essentially. And I presume you'll also be managing the O&M for all of your projects, basically. Again, like I said, I'm sort of slightly new to the business and the companies. I'm not sort of sure on that count also. And when you're sort of taking a new project, sort of that also sort of new projects also sort of bring a fair bit of risk.
But even leaving that aside, my sort of principal point here is that this year, we have seen a very and again, principally, given the fact that you are in the almost 60%-70% of your order book, 65%, 2/3 of your order book is in the road sector, we've seen a pretty soft bidding in FY 2026. I'm not sure what sort of changes in FY 2027. We've also seen the budget also just about less than a 10% increase in CapEx, what the government is basically talking about. And clearly, defense and some of the other sectors, high-speed rail corridors, etc., those sort of seem to be the priorities unless you're basically so are you okay.
So then the other sort of question is that are you basically looking to expand materially into some new sectors where traditionally, the company sort of seemingly has been mostly on the roadside? And of course, there's a little bit of power, T&D. I mean, railways less than 10% sort of share of order book. That's fairly small.
So are you sort of looking to expand in a big way into some new verticals, new business lines, or? Because as far as the road piece is concerned, I don't really see I mean, even the current balance sheet and let's assume the March, April, what you're basically saying also happens. Beyond that, I mean, the existing projects, do you the leftover projects that you have, which you've sort of said that you would sort of look to monetize those as well? And what purpose would that sort of serve?
Because at least in the intermediate term, till such time that you can sort of scale up your order book and get new projects, which I think this year also, you're missing on your order book guidance at the beginning of the year, primarily because of slow bidding on the roadside itself, right? I mean, that's just going to be cash sitting on the books, earning what, like 6%-7%.
Interest rates are also fairly low. Isn't it better to sort of keep those projects, at least sort of keep having that 15%-16% IRR, whatever it is, basically? Definitely double-digit IRR. Keep earning that IRR. And then I mean, as in when you see the order book pipeline basically firming up, then you can probably selectively probably monetize some of those assets.
So actually, there are two parts to it. The assets which you are monetizing and the core business of the company are typically two different revenue streams. The assets which are monetized are giving a revenue stream of either financial income or a toll revenue, which is not an effort-driven revenue. Once we have already constructed, it's more of an economic impact on the project. So we are not making any EPC effort. Our major source of revenue is EPC, which brings in revenue.
So definitely, our return expectation on EPC is better, and we expect 15%-18% IRR on that kind of business. Better to invest in EPC contracts to earn that income, which we have monetized at a discounting of 12%. So that is definitely one driver to that. And second also is the burden.
So initially, it is all these projects which are BOT projects or PPP projects have high debt. It typically brings a lot of, definitely, there is a pressure on the balance sheet with a high debt. We were almost INR 6,700 debt before Q2, and now we are in the range of around INR 2,700. Substantially brings down the debt burden on the consolidated level also. So these two being the main drivers and helps in creating cash which could be used for various purposes, including probably also servicing the investors who are there today on board.
Can I understand the history of it, but I'm still sort of confused?
Sorry to interrupt, Amit. Sorry to interrupt. Can I have just.
One sort of one bookkeeping question, if you don't mind, please? Yeah, yeah. One final one.
So this Middle East impairment also, I mean, this INR 25 crore, I mean, isn't sort of running an office principally an operational sort of expense? So why is this coming on the balance sheet side, and why are you sort of impairing it? I'm not sure I understood this bit also, basically. Fine. There is an office in the Middle East, but principally, the expense on that side could be operational and not capital.
That is true. But then this is the operations are being done by a subsidiary where the holding company, which is Ashoka Buildcon, has given a loan or equity to that subsidiary. So in the books of ABL as a bookkeeping issue, it's an investment or loan. It's not an operational expense. Operations at the consolidated level, probably, yes, what you're saying is right.
At the consolidated level, it would be merged as an expenditure. But at the standalone level, it is booked as a loan or equity invested. Now, because of the business not coming in the way, we have preferred to do an impairment as a conservative policy. Over the quarters, probably, it reverses then.
Okay. So this impairment then doesn't sort of exactly show up into your consolidated, basically, then?
No, it will not.
It will not. Okay. Understood. Thank you. Thank you. That's it from us.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavin Modi from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for providing me the opportunity again. Sir, in your order book details, the Maharashtra in the power, T&D, and others, Maharashtra is increased by INR 641 crore. So can you help me? Which project was included in this?
Maharashtra, probably, and.
Power T&D and others?
Power T&D. Okay. I'll come back on this. Which specific project you're talking about?
Yeah, yeah. And sir, also in the EPC buildings, it has increased from INR 462 crore to INR 528 crore. So again, where this increase was, was it change in the scope, or there was some new addition?
New addition of an EPC contract, small EPC contract.
Okay. Yes. Sir, second thing here, sir, I just wanted to understand with the NHAI coming up with the stringent rule about the network. So the formula on a broader level goes like this: five times into the network minus the unexecuted value of BOT and HAM projects.
So just wanted to understand this BOT and HAM projects, the unexecuted value, will this belong only to the NHAI MoRTH, or will it also belong to the state projects as well as other than the road projects? For example, there are water projects. It's also under the HAM category. Yeah. All PPP projects. It will be all PPP. All the PPP across the state or across the segments, right?
Yes. All PPP in the company.
Okay. Sir, one more thing. Sir, are we currently L1 in any of the projects?
Yeah. We are L1 in some of the projects, but we cannot disclose at this stage.
Okay. Got it. And sir, last bookkeeping question, sir. There was an exceptional item which is being recognized where it has mentioned, right? Just a minute. I will just look word to word. So it was mentioned we have created the obligation of something around INR 3,600 crore for the obligations towards the investors in subsidiary, but of which we have only adjusted INR 2,660 crores, and balance INR 953 crore was credited back to the P&L. So just wanted to understand, sir, in terms of bookkeeping, what is this provision about?
See, over the years in the past, because Macquarie was an investor actually in our old core company that is Ashoka Construction, there was a provision created for the investors of around INR 350 crore. After adjusting their value of actual investment and the amounts paid for acquiring their CCDs, the balance amount of INR 95 crore, which was on the credit side, was brought to the P&L account as an income as an exceptional item.
Okay. So over the period, whatever the cumulative provision was done, INR 361 crore, was it debited to the P&L? And now that excess is being?
Yes, yes. It was the previous project.
Got it. Got it. Thank you, sir. That's from my side.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vasudev from Nuvama. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you for the follow-up, sir. What is our current status and thoughts on monetization of Chennai ORR and Jaora Nayagaon projects?
Chennai ORR, we continue to pursue seller. On the Jaora Nayagaon, we are still holding it in our books as an investment. The revenues are strong, and we adjust. If any good interest comes, we would be interested in doing a dialogue. Chennai ORR, we continue to discuss with investors, potential ones.
Okay. Sure, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Dr. Amit Vora from the Homeopathic Clinic. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Good afternoon. I've joined. It's a bit late. So just wanted to know, yesterday, our finance minister has told that INR 1,220,000 crore will be spent on infrastructure. So what is your expectation for order book this year and next financial year and the margins? Hello?
So for FY 2026, we are typically looking at order book intake in the next two months to the tune of around INR 3,000-3,500 crore. Based on the budget promises which have been made, definitely, we will look overall order book intake for the next year to the tune of around INR 11,000-12,000 crore, which we generally keep as a vision for the intake of orders.
Okay. What is the kind of margins, sir, that you are looking out?
Generally, in the range of 10%-11%.
10%-11%. Okay. So this INR 11,000-INR 12,000 crore for next year includes only with central government orders or even Maharashtra or state government?
This would be all sectors: the roads, power, and.
Power and. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll take this as the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Bhavin Modi for closing remarks. Over to you, sir.
Hi, sir. Just a last question. I think you said there was some impact because of extraordinary items of INR 52 crore. So if you have quantified the amount of tax, it will be helpful, or otherwise, over to you, sir. Thanks.
Yeah. We have already said approximately INR 19 crore of reversal or deferred tax receipts of the impact of these impairments and other impairments of investments all put together. So deferred tax reversal is there of INR 19 crore.
Thank you so much, sir. You can proceed with your closing remarks.
Yeah. We thank everybody for having joined this call. We hope you have had the answers for what you are looking for. If you need any further information, you are free to contact me or our investor relations advisors, SGA, Mr. Deven Dhruva. Thank you, everybody. Good day.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you.
Thank you very much. On behalf of IIFL Capital Services Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us today, and you may now disconnect your line.