Ashoka Buildcon is expecting a large pipeline of orders from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and a few states, said Paresh Mehta, chief financial officer (CFO) of the company.

Ashoka Buildcon has seen operational improvement in the third quarter. Lower finance costs and tax expenses have lifted the bottom line. Quarterly toll collections too are at their highest level in 3 years.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Mehta said, “We definitely see a large bidding pipeline coming in from NHAI and a few states. So orderbook buildup should definitely be good, at least Rs 5,000-6,000 crore per year buildup every year should be possible and we should be ending 20 percent higher by the year-end.”

“The impact of the pandemic will get covered up by the year-end and the Budget 2021 definitely throws up a lot of positive vibes to the company and it will help a lot,” he said.

On the cash flow front, the CFO said, “Since March 2020, when we saw the pandemic set in, the government has been proactive in disbursing dues; it has been on time and there were no delays. Therefore, cash flow continues to be robust. We do not see any pent-up in government’s ability to spend money for the projects where progress is on.”

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(Edited by : Niral Sharma)