Torrent Gas, part of the $4.5-billion Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, has started exploratory talks for an initial public offering and according to sources it could be anywhere in the region of ₹2,000-2,500 crore.
An IPO has been part of the company’s plans and in 2020 its management had said that a public listing would be done once it reached a certain scale of operations in terms of revenue. The proceeds of the IPO would be used for investing in infrastructure as well as for acquisitions. However, the public offer is not expected before next year.
There was no response to an email sent to the Torrent group seeking a comment. The two listed entities in the group are Torrent Pharmaceuticals and Torrent Power, both of which have healthy balance sheets.
In the first nine months of FY24, Torrent Gas reported revenue of ₹2,283 crore and an EBITDA of ₹252 crore. The company reported profit after tax of ₹122 crore in FY22 but it reported a loss in FY23.
City gas distribution became a focus area for the group in 2018 and Torrent Gas entered the business that year acquiring what it later named as Torrent Gas Pune and won licenses for 13 areas. Currently it has gas distribution licenses in 17 geographical areas operating through seven special purpose vehicles. The company has been receiving considerable financial and operational support from its holding company Torrent Investments, which had infused around ₹1,600 crore in the company as of March 2023, according to Crisil.
Investment
In 2021 the company had said that it would invest around ₹10,000 crore across the country on laying infrastructure for gas distribution of which about half was to be in Tamil Nadu.
While Torrent Investment is expected to continue to provide support to the company since it is strategically important to the group, sources said a public listing will also unlock value for the holding company. According to Crisil, Torrent Investment had good liquidity driven by the market value of ₹94,000 crore of investments in Torrent Power and Torrent Pharma. Torrent Gas is likely to generate ₹150-200 crore cash over the medium term.
The rating agency said it expects healthy revenue growth and robust operating profitability for Torrent Gas over the medium term, “backed by expected ramp-up in operations because of capex, controlled input cost pressures and better economies of scale reducing fixed operating cost.”