National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT) has received a comprehensive credit rating update from CARE Ratings Limited, reaffirming its strong financial position and operational performance across its diversified toll road portfolio. The rating agency has maintained CARE AAA; Stable ratings on existing facilities while assigning new ratings totaling ₹3,375.00 crore.

Rating Actions and Facility Details

CARE Ratings Limited has taken multiple rating actions on NHIT's various facilities and instruments, reflecting the trust's robust credit profile:

The rating agency withdrew ratings on certain non-convertible debentures that were not placed in the market, as requested by the company.

Strong Operational Performance

NHIT's operational metrics demonstrate significant improvement following portfolio expansion. The trust reported toll collections of ₹2,364 crore in FY25 with average daily toll collection (ADTC) of ₹6.30 crore, representing a substantial increase from ₹2.58 crore in FY24. The addition of round-4 assets has further enhanced performance, with ADTC reaching ₹11.37 crore in 9MFY26.

Diversified Asset Portfolio

NHIT currently operates 26 toll road assets across four acquisition rounds, spanning 2,355 km across 12 states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. The portfolio composition includes five assets under round-1, three under round-2, seven under round-3, and eleven under round-4.

The trust's assets demonstrate operational maturity, with 57% of assets (by length) having over 10 years of operational history, 4% with 5-10 years, and 38% operational for less than five years. Two additional road assets under round-5 with an aggregate length of 311 km are proposed to be subsumed under NHIT, which would increase the portfolio to 28 toll road assets.

Financial Strength and Risk Management

NHIT maintains a comfortable financial position with consolidated net debt to enterprise value at 43% as of December 31, 2025. The trust has established robust risk management mechanisms including a debt service reserve account (DSRA) of ₹139 crore in fixed deposits and ₹336 crore in DSRA bank guarantees, equivalent to one-quarter of debt servicing obligations.

The rating agency highlighted the trust's benefits from cashflow pooling under the InvIT structure, favorable capital structure, and strong debt coverage metrics. However, ratings remain subject to inherent risks including traffic growth variations, toll rate revision linkages to wholesale price index movements, and operation and maintenance risks.

Strategic Positioning

As the principal vehicle for monetizing road assets under the National Asset Monetisation Pipeline, NHIT holds strategic importance for the Government of India. The trust operates under concession agreements ranging from 20 to 30 years with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), providing long-term revenue visibility through the toll-operate-transfer model.

The rating outlook remains stable, with CARE Ratings expecting NHIT's business and financial risk profiles to remain stable, supported by healthy toll collections, comfortable leverage, and strong debt coverage indicators.

Source: Exclusive content

National Highways Infra Trust has delivered robust financial performance for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, showcasing significant growth across key operational and financial metrics. The infrastructure investment trust, which manages a diversified portfolio of highway assets across India, reported substantial revenue growth driven by asset expansion and improved traffic performance.

Strong Financial Performance Drives Growth

The trust's consolidated financial results demonstrate remarkable improvement across all major parameters. Total revenue from operations reached INR 1,104 crores in Q3 FY26, representing an 88% increase from INR 587 crores in Q3 FY25.

The integration of Round 4 assets, which became operational from April 1, 2025, contributed significantly to this growth, generating INR 436 crores in revenue during Q3 FY26. Round 1 & 2 assets contributed INR 280 crores, while Round 3 assets generated INR 388 crores in revenue.

Portfolio Expansion and Geographic Diversification

NHIT's portfolio has expanded to 2,345 kilometers across 26 projects, strategically positioned across 11 Indian states. The trust operates through three Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs): NWPPPL managing 8 assets from Rounds 1 & 2, NEPPL overseeing 7 Round 3 assets, and NSPPL handling 11 Round 4 assets.

The geographic distribution shows strong presence in high-growth states, with Andhra Pradesh contributing 19% of FY25 revenue, Uttar Pradesh 17%, Madhya Pradesh 16%, and Karnataka 13%. This diversification across major economic corridors including the Golden Quadrilateral and North-South, East-West corridors positions the trust to benefit from India's economic growth.

Traffic Performance Shows Consistent Growth

Across the portfolio, traffic performance demonstrated positive momentum with most projects recording growth in passenger car units (PCU) and revenue. NWPPPL assets showed mixed performance, with standout growth at BM (11% traffic growth, 14% revenue growth) and KK (9% traffic growth, 13% revenue growth). The Samriddhi Expressway continued to provide feeder traffic to NEPPL assets, particularly benefiting RKJL and LK projects.

NSPPL assets, under full operational control since the transition period ended in September 2025, showed strong performance with MH recording 36% traffic growth and GDK achieving 17% traffic growth due to traffic diversions from NH216.

Strong Financial Position and Distribution Policy

The trust maintained a robust financial position with total debt of INR 21,840 crores at the end of Q3 FY26, resulting in a debt service coverage ratio of 2.05x. The debt-to-total assets ratio stood at 0.48x, reflecting prudent leverage management.

NHIT declared distributions of INR 531 crores for Q3 FY26, translating to INR 2.74 per unit across 193.68 crore outstanding units. Since listing in November 2021, the trust has distributed a cumulative INR 29.63 per unit across 18 distributions, maintaining its commitment to regular income generation for investors.

Sustainability and Safety Initiatives

The trust continued its focus on environmental, health, and safety performance during Q3 FY26. Key achievements included 41.83 million total man hours worked with 41.55 million safe man hours, conducting 14,258 toolbox talks, and planting 25,590 saplings across avenue, median, and toll plaza premises. The trust consumed 43 MWh of captive renewable energy, leading to a reduction of 30 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.