Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd - Stock Valuation and Financial Performance

The Noida Toll Bridge Company (NTBCL) has been promoted by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated on April 8, 1996 in Uttar Pradesh under the Indian Companies Act,1956, as a public company limited by shares to develop construct, operate and maintain the DND Flyway on a Build Own Operate Transfer (BOOT) basis. NTBCL is a public listed company. 

DND Flyway grew out of a need to bridge the growing population of Delhi with its neighbours across the Yamuna. The Flyway, an outcome of innovative technical and financial engineering, has been built with due care for environmental concerns. The Citizens Committee was formed to oversee the requisite environmental safeguards during construction - a feature pointed out by the World Bank as being the first of its kind in the world. The project was commissioned on February 7, 2001, almost 4 months ahead of schedule and broadly within the budget.

The company’s principal business is operating the bridge, the revenues being generated mainly through the levy of toll charges on users of the bridge. The company has set up a 100% subsidiary, DND Flyway, for the implementation of development rights. Part of the surplus land on the Noida side has been transferred to the subsidiary.

The Company had issued 1,24,99,999 Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) (including the Green Shoe Option of 11,36,363 GDRs) each representing 5 underlying ordinary shares of Rs. 10 each), in March/April 2006. As on March 31, 2009, there were 6,52,019 GDRs outstanding, representing 32,60,095 underlying equity shares.The Company had filed a petition for a Scheme of Arrangement which included an amalgamation, with its wholly owned subsidiary, DND Flyway Limited, under Sections 391- 394 of the Companies Act, 1956.In 2007 the High Courts of Allahabad and Delhi have approved the Scheme of Amalgamation between the Company and its 100% subsidiary, DND Flyway.

In March and April 2006, the Company raised approximately $49.5 million through a placing of approximately 12.5 million GDRs (each GDR representing five Equity Shares) which were admitted to trading on AIM. The GDRs were issued under the terms of the deposit agreement dated March 21, 2006 between the Company and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas.  The GDRs constituted approximately 62.5 million Equity Shares and represented approximately 33.58% of the enlarged equity share capital of the Company at that time.

The Company convened a General Meeting of its GDR holders on April 6, 2009 at the registered office of the Company in Uttar Pradesh, India to seek approval from the GDR holders of the Company for the cancellation of the admission of the GDRs to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc.ITNL Toll Management Services Limited (ITMSL) was incorporated as a joint venture company with IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited, who have significant experience in operations and maintenance of toll road projects. The Company was set up to carry out O&M services for Noida Toll Bridge and other similar ventures on a pan- India basis. The O&M services of the bridge have been taken over by ITMSL.

Future plan

The Noida Toll Bridge Company proposes to establish an additional bridge across the river Yamuna as a toll bridge to serve the needs of the region. The Company proposes to use a technology for the bridge which involves a continuous box girder deck based design requiring less raw materials for construction.

Recent development

The company’s proposal for delisting its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of London Stock Exchange has been rejected by the share holders.