1. At a Glance – Blink and You’ll Miss the Drama
Highway Infrastructure Ltd is that guy in the infra party who quietly collects toll money while everyone else is busy arguing about EPC margins. Market cap sitting at ₹386 crore, stock price bruised at ₹53.9, and a brutal –57% return in just 6 months. Ouch. Yet, the business itself is still clocking ROCE ~19.6%, ROE ~18.8%, and trades at a modest P/E of ~11.1 when the industry average is flexing at ~27x.
Latest quarterly sales came in at ₹127.8 crore, up 15.6% YoY, while PAT grew a spicy 37.9% YoY to ₹6.11 crore. Toll collection dominates revenue like a strict Indian parent—~77% of FY25 revenue, with EPC at ~21.5% and real estate politely existing at ~1.5%.
Debt? Chill at ₹44.7 crore, D/E 0.21. Promoters still hold a solid 70%, zero pledge. And yes, this stock listed in August 2025, got hyped, then got humbled. Question is: is the market overreacting, or is there smoke behind the skid marks?
2. Introduction – Welcome to India’s Toll Booth Economy
India doesn’t build roads for fun. It builds them because traffic is eternal, trucks never sleep, and toll plazas are basically annuity machines with cameras. Highway Infrastructure Ltd (HIL) lives exactly at this intersection—toll operations + EPC execution + a tiny real estate side quest.
Founded in 2006, HIL has quietly built a presence across 11 states and 1 Union Territory, operating tollways including the Delhi–Meerut Expressway, using ANPR + RFID-based electronic tolling. Translation: fewer humans, more cameras, faster collections, less leakage.
While large players chase 20–30 year BOT assets, HIL prefers shorter tenure, high-churn toll O&M contracts, especially with NHAI. Add EPC contracts under PMGSY, PMAY, Jal Jeevan Mission—and you get a company that lives on government paperwork, milestone billing, and
tender discipline.
But here’s the twist: despite decent financial metrics, the stock price has behaved like a crypto meme. Why? IPO hangover, volatile margins, and one fat line item called “Other Income” that keeps auditors awake at night.
So is this a hidden infra compounder or just another toll booth with fancy cameras? Let’s dig.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Imagine three siblings:
1️⃣ Tollway Collection – The Cash Cow
HIL operates toll plazas on highways awarded mostly by NHAI. As of May 31, 2025:
- 27 toll projects completed
- 4 active toll projects
- Revenue contribution: ~77% FY25
They don’t own roads; they operate and collect tolls under contracts—often 1-year terms. Low capex, fast cash cycles, but renewal risk is real.
2️⃣ EPC Infrastructure – The Muscle Job
Here, HIL builds:
- Roads
- Bridges
- Irrigation projects
- Buildings & tanks
Stats flex:
- 66 EPC projects completed
- 24 under execution
- 4 awaiting completion certificates
Clients? Mostly government bodies (~92% public sector exposure). Schemes like PMGSY, PMAY, Jal Jeevan Mission keep the pipeline flowing. EPC contributes ~21.5% revenue, but margins are thinner than a highway tea.
3️⃣ Real Estate – The Side Hustle
This is the smallest vertical (~1.5% revenue). Some residential and commercial developments, already delivered. No aggressive expansion. Basically,
