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Informist, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026

 

By Avishek Rakshit

 

KOLKATA - GMR Airports Ltd., which is expecting flat on-year growth in traffic at Hyderabad airport this financial year, is eyeing bids for new airports as they open up for privatisation, provided the price at which it is offered is right, a senior company official said Thursday. 

 

"We will surely look at bidding any new airports that come for privatisation...whenever the government has made some noises on the privatisations...We would be definitely interested if the price is right," the company official told sector analysts in a post-earnings conference call. 

 

"We will bid for these airports at a very rational price and not be in the mode of creating a portfolio which is a loss-making portfolio going forward. So, it will be a conservative judicious bidding that we will undertake," the official said. 

 

As on Jun. 30, the airport operator had consolidated gross debt of INR 395 billion. Adjusted against its cash flows, the net debt increased 3% on year, but remained flat on quarter at INR 340 billion during the June quarter. The combined net debt of Delhi and Hyderabad airports fell by INR 5.9 billion during the quarter, but the debt position of Bhogapuram airport increased by INR 3.1 billion, and the company's standalone debt increased by INR 2.9 billion.

 

The government has proposed to privatise 11 airports – at Amritsar, Kangra, Varanasi, Kushinagar, Gaya, Bhubaneswar, Hubli, Raipur, Aurangabad, Trichy, and Tirupati. However, the company may not be able to bag all airports as the government is reportedly considering capping the number of airport bundles that can be awarded to a single bidder at two to three to curb oligopoly in the country. 

 

"GMR will participate in bids for non-aero adjacency businesses that are rebid by airports as and when the respective concessions at the airports end," the official said. 

 

The company said that it expects traffic at Hyderabad airport to be around 30.5 million-31 million in the current financial year, similar to the traffic the company saw in the last financial year. 

 

"So, as far as the Hyderabad airport is concerned, I think the new routes are also being now opened for the international. As far as the domestic is concerned, efforts are being made to provide some airlines," the official said. 

 

At Hyderabad, international traffic declined in the June quarter primarily due to the ongoing war in West Asia which led to geopolitical instability and rising airfares. At the same time, domestic traffic declined at the Hyderabad airport in the June quarter due to route rationalisation by airlines. 

 

On Thursday, shares of GMR Airports closed 1.5% lower at INR 103.00 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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