GIVEN THAT THE CENTRE has ramped up its capital investment outlay for the third year in a row by 33% to ₹10 lakh crore, it comes as no surprise that infrastructure companies have shown robust fourth quarter (Q4FY23) performance. What stood out clearly was the pace of execution as most players clocked strong year-on-year topline growth in the 15-35% band. However, with rising costs and higher interest rates, margins were not exactly strong. Analysts point out timely payments from government authorities are helping companies manage debt. If the execution momentum continues and input costs trend lower, the infrastructure sector as a whole could see better earnings in the coming quarters.