National Highways Infra Trust gets IND AAA in FY26

What changed in the latest rating action

India Ratings and Research has affirmed National Highways Infra Trust’s (NHIT) issuer rating at IND AAA/Stable and maintained the same rating across its existing debt instruments. It also assigned IND AAA/Stable to proposed bank loan facilities of ₹3,400 crore. The action keeps NHIT at the highest credit quality level on the India Ratings scale, indicating minimal risk of delay in debt servicing, as per the agency’s framework. The rating affirmation comes as the InvIT continues to expand its portfolio through NHAI’s toll-operate-transfer monetisation rounds. Separately, CARE Ratings has also reaffirmed CARE AAA; Stable on NHIT’s facilities, reinforcing the message of stability in the trust’s credit profile.

India Ratings: instruments covered and the new proposed facility

India Ratings’ action covered NHIT’s issuer rating and multiple borrowing instruments, including bank loans, NCDs and bonds. The agency noted that the bank loan facilities were reduced to ₹21,028 crore from ₹21,320 crore, while maintaining the same rating. It also rated the proposed bank loan facilities of ₹3,400 crore.

Key instruments in the India Ratings note (converted to ₹ crore)

The proposed bank loan facilities include ₹3,325 crore earmarked for concession fee payments linked to round 5 acquisitions. India Ratings also described the bond and refinancing mix, including zero-coupon bonds up to ₹2,032 crore (face value) and proposed NCDs of ₹968 crore for refinancing existing rupee term loans.

Portfolio scale: 28 toll road assets across multiple rounds

India Ratings described NHIT as operating 28 toll road assets spread across 11 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chhattisgarh. The rating rationale highlighted portfolio diversification, noting that no single asset contributes more than 9% to overall toll revenues, which reduces concentration risk.

The portfolio has been built through NHAI monetisation rounds, with rounds 1 to 4 operational and round 5 proposed.

Asset rounds and the round-5 pipeline

NHIT’s road assets are grouped by acquisition rounds with different concession tenors.

India Ratings said the proposed round 5 acquisition is expected to add two toll road assets in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, with total concession fees of ₹6,221 crore.

Toll collections: round-wise growth in 9MFY26

India Ratings pointed to growth across the operating rounds. For round 1, toll collections were ₹474 crore in 9MFY26, up 8% year-on-year, with average daily collections of ₹1.724 crore. Round 2 assets recorded ₹334.1 crore in toll collections in 9MFY26, growing 11% year-on-year. Round 3 assets recorded ₹1,098.6 crore in 9MFY26, up 14% year-on-year.

These figures were presented as part of a broader argument that cash generation remains resilient across multiple asset cohorts, rather than being driven by a single corridor.

FY25 financial snapshot cited by India Ratings

India Ratings provided FY25 financials showing a sharp increase after portfolio expansion. Revenue from operations was ₹2,363.8 crore in FY25 versus ₹943.9 crore in FY24, while total revenue stood at ₹2,415.6 crore in FY25 versus ₹974.6 crore in FY24. EBITDA was reported at ₹1,975.0 crore in FY25 (margin 83%) compared with ₹762.6 crore in FY24 (margin 78%). Finance costs rose to ₹1,055.5 crore in FY25 from ₹280.2 crore in FY24, consistent with the larger borrowing base and asset additions.

India Ratings also projected revenue growth at a 7%-9% CAGR over FY27-FY32 in its base case and said it expects debt service coverage ratios (DSCR) above 1.80x across the debt tenor.

Debt protections, leverage headroom, and liquidity buffers

A key support for the rating is the debt protection package and the InvIT cash-flow pooling structure. India Ratings highlighted a debt service reserve equivalent to one quarter of debt obligations, and a cash trap trigger when DSCR falls below 1.35x. It also cited a minimum annual DSCR threshold of 1.30x.

On leverage, the consolidated net debt-to-enterprise value ratio was 42.22% (as of December 31, 2025), which India Ratings noted is below the SEBI-permitted ceiling of 70%.

CARE Ratings reaffirmation: parallel confirmation of AAA profile

In a separate update, CARE Ratings reaffirmed CARE AAA; Stable on facilities totalling ₹29,321 crore, and assigned new ratings totalling ₹3,375 crore. CARE described NHIT as operating 26 toll road assets spanning 2,355 km across 12 states, and reported toll collections of ₹2,364 crore in FY25.

CARE also disclosed liquidity buffers under the debt service reserve framework, including ₹139 crore in fixed deposits and ₹336 crore in DSRA bank guarantees, stated as equivalent to one quarter of debt servicing obligations. CARE reported consolidated net debt to enterprise value at 43% as of December 31, 2025.

Why the AAA affirmations matter for investors

For an InvIT funded through a combination of bank loans and bond market instruments, repeated AAA affirmations can influence funding access and borrowing costs, especially when acquisitions are funded through new debt lines. India Ratings explicitly tied the new ₹3,400 crore proposed facility to concession fee payments for round 5, indicating that the financing plan is already being evaluated through a credit lens. The rating agencies also emphasised diversification, cash-flow pooling, and defined trigger-based protections, which are central to how infrastructure vehicles manage variability in traffic and toll collections.

What to watch next

The next visible milestone is the proposed acquisition of round 5 assets by end-FY26, along with the associated concession fee outgo and the drawdown plan for the newly rated bank facilities. Investors will also track whether DSCR triggers remain comfortably above the stated thresholds as the portfolio scales, and how finance costs evolve alongside the larger debt base. Both India Ratings and CARE currently maintain a Stable outlook, implying no near-term rating change is built into their stated view.