At this price, the scrip is just 2.5% away from its all-time high level of ₹76.55, hit on May 27 this year. Although, the counter has gained 155% in the past one year.
The strong upmove came on the back of heavy trading volumes, as India is reportedly set to increase road toll charges across the country between 3% and 5% from today, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the country’s general elections.
High operators including IRB Infrastructure Developers and Ashoka Buildcon Ltd. will likely benefit from the toll increases.
Ashoka Buildcon shares were also trading more than 6% higher at ₹194.70 apiece on the NSE today. The stock has risen 140% over the last 12 months.
On May 30, IRB Infra shares declined 10%, after a large trade that took place in the stock. As many as 31.3 crore shares or a 5.20% of the company’s total equity changed hands in a block deal that took place on the exchanges.
The average price at which the shares changed hands was ₹65 per share, taking the total transaction value above ₹2,033 crore.
CNBC-TV18 had reported earlier that two seller entities — IRB Holding Pvt Ltd and Deepali Virendra Mhaiskar — will offer up to 22.5 crore and 1.5 crore shares in the transaction.
In India, toll charges are revised annually in line with inflation and highway operators put notices in local newspapers announcing hikes of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from Monday.
“As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become effective from June 3,” a senior official at the National Highways Authority of India was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.
The country has invested a huge amount in the last 10 years to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 1,46,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.
Toll collections surged to over ₹54,000 crore in the financial year 2022-23 from ₹25,200 crore in fiscal FY19, helped by an increase in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.
The exit polls results projected towards a consecutive third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the BJP-led political alliance NDA getting a landslide victory in the general election that concluded on Saturday.