Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd Q3 FY24 Earnings Conference Call Insights

Key highlights from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd (IRCTC) Q3 FY24 Earnings Concall

• Revenue Growth
  • Q3 revenue reached highest ever at INR 1,118 crores, up 21.8% YoY and 12.4% QoQ.
  • Catering revenue grew 29.1% YoY to INR 508 crores.
  • Internet ticketing revenue grew 11.4% YoY to INR 335 crores.
  • Tourism revenue grew 32.28% YoY and 21.11% QoQ to INR 195 crores.
• Profitability
  • Q3 net profit highest ever at INR 300 crores, up 17.4% YoY.
  • Catering EBITDA margin improved to 15.44% from 10.73% YoY.
  • Internet ticketing EBITDA margin stable at 83.7%.
  • Tourism turned EBITDA positive at 12.10%.
• Catering Business Growth Drivers
  • Introduction of 41 Vande Bharat trains.
  • Catering contracts increased from 1200 to 1518.
  • Higher FTR coaches boosting revenue.
  • Foray into non-railway catering with 8 NRC projects.
  • Tie-up with food aggregators like Zomato.
• Growth Outlook
  • Railway infrastructure growth positive for all business verticals.
  • Catering business has headroom with passenger and train growth.
  • 20 lakh meals served daily vs 2 crore daily passengers.
  • Scope for exponential growth in meals.
• Ticketing Volumes
  • 550 million AC class tickets.
  • 456 million non-AC tickets.
  • 140 million current booking tickets.
  • Convenience fees at INR 219 crores.
• Catering Business Update
  • Catering services expense of INR 349 crores.
  • Includes reimbursements and railway revenue share.
  • Currently 1,518 short term contracts of ~6 months.
  • New policy enables 5+2 years contracts.
  • Cluster-based approach in 5 phases.
• New Policy Implementation
  • Floating tenders aggressively under new policy.
  • Will cover all 1,200 trains currently operated.
  • Aiming for long-term 5+2 years contracts.
  • Entire train base to move to new catering policy.
  • New trains to be added on existing base.
• UPI Promotion Incentives
  • Part of government promotion directive.
  • IRCTC taking lead with large incentives.
  • Helps drive digital payments adoption.
  • Highest ever revenue this quarter despite incentives.
  • Timeline for continuing incentives unclear.
• Tourism Business Growth
  • Key offering is rail-based tourism.
  • Operating 10+1 Bharat Gaurav trains.
  • Signed MoU with Uttarakhand government.
  • Talks ongoing with other states like Maharashtra.
  • MoUs open big revenue opportunity from state partnerships