IRB Infrastructure gains on earnings; chairman probe status

Shares in IRB Infrastructure Developers surged 5.8 percent after the construction firm beat estimates on Friday with a 6 percent gain in April-June net profit to Rs 1.42 billion.

The surge in net profit was driven by the engineering procurement construction sector, where revenues and EBITDA margins surprised positively, brokerage CLSA said in a note.

IRB Infrastructure's management also suggested in an analyst conference call that it has not heard from the police after IRB Infrastructure's chairman Virendra Dattatray Mhaiskar was questioned in connection with the 2010 murder of a RTI activist, CLSA said in its note.

Market talk of the investigation status are also driving up IRB Infrastructure's shares, traders say.

The IRB Chairman declined to comment when contacted on Monday. CLSA maintained its out-perform rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 140.