Beyond Ticket Booking: IRCTC's Big Growth Plan | CMD On Margins, Expansion & FY27 Outlook

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Let's go across to an individual counter, though, possibly reacting to numbers. IRCTC delivered a mixed quarter.

[00:00:06]Revenue beating expectations with the margins coming under pressure. Let's go across to Varsha to set things up before we speak to the management. Varsha?

[00:00:13]>> Well, yes, absolutely. Revenue were above estimates, but EBITDA missed estimates. Now, underlying performance was stable, but optics weak due to higher costs. Now, margins look weak, but largely due to one-off expenses and allocation. The other expenses, if you see, went up 47% 120 and 120% up quarter on quarter. And this spike is likely one-off, though adjusting for this, EBITDA would have been up 18%. And lastly, on the OPEX allocation, if you see, catering business, which contributes 47% of revenue and ticketing most impacted. Margins look weak optically due to accounting allocation.

[00:00:50]>> So, clearly, that's some of what we need to speak to the management about. Let's welcome on board Sanjay Kumar Jain, who's the CMD of IRCTC. Thank you, sir, for taking the time. Let me ask about the margins, right? Because despite that 15% revenue growth, you had EBITDA margins that fell to a 21-quarter low.

[00:01:09]What drove that sharp spike in other expenses during the quarter?

[00:01:14]>> You're absolutely right that this year, if you talk of the yearly result, we are highest ever in every every respect, whether it is revenue from operation, PAT, EBITDA.

[00:01:29]Everything we are the best ever.

[00:01:32]As regards dip in margin this quarter is concerned, we have provided and booked there are certain expenditure or provisions like CSR. We have booked for 31 crore this quarter as against last year 7 crore.

[00:01:52]And additional expected credit loss item of 16 crore as against 8 crore.

[00:02:00]Besides that, there is a legacy exceptional item of legacy item last year we booked in March 2025 of 48 crore. If we take in these into account and deduct the GST part of it, so our profitability this year also percentage will coming around plus 8%.

[00:02:21]>> Okay. All right. But let me ask specifically about the internet ticketing margins. They weakened as UPI transactions increased. How do you plan to balance the digital adoption with the pressure on convenience fee income?

[00:02:37]>> You see, as every time we say that our main because we are already booking 89% of the rail reserve ticket, so it will be arithmetical progression only. So our main focus is on non-convenience fee part of it. And if you see the breakup of our IT business, the convenience fee and non-convenience fee part, then you will It is very clearly visible that our non-convenience fee has increased by 9%.

[00:03:03]It's growing by 9%. And we are adding certain things to that. Like our focus area will be non-convenience fee more.

[00:03:11]And there like we are coming up with sole rights for advertisement. And we are engaging with agent business also. And loyalty program also we have increased this year this quarter by around 167%.

[00:03:26]So there we are focusing more.

[00:03:28]And this besides the UPI share percentage enhancement, the EBITDA got pressurized because of allocation of CSR additional rupees of 17 crore and direct cost for site development of around 8 crore.

[00:03:51]>> Okay. So is that also the reason why catering uh revenues were strong but the margin saw sharp contraction? Is that also on account of cost allocation or were there operational issues here?

[00:04:04]>> No, exactly the main largely it is because of our provisioning in the last quarter of whether it is CSR allocation like last year it was only one crore allocated to catering segment.

[00:04:18]This year we are allocated in this quarter five crores and provision of ECL item last year it was only five crore where this year we have provided for 16 crores. Last year the legacy item of 33 crores in the credit side is not here this time. And because of increase in the RSD sale sale of in the premium trains, we have to incur a 5% additional cost on GST. That comes to three crores. So if we are pretty well if you if you take into account all these our margin will be around 12 to 14% off.

[00:04:57]>> All right. Um are you seeing an increase in costs on account of the West Asia crisis? That's a question that I think a lot of businesses have to contend with but how are you managing that?

[00:05:11]>> You see I am happy to tell you and through your platform to our passengers and the citizen of India that our team has managed this crisis very nicely because of the timely intervention and planning with the support of railway board. That is the first thing what we did is we we have all allowed with the permission of railway board of cooking on pantry car which are safe. Like LHB pantry car having state of art technology and electric cooking without like fire onto that.

[00:05:50]So, we have utilized that first thing.

[00:05:52]Second thing, our team coordinated well with the Ministry of Petroleum and the marketing company like IOCL, BPCL, HPCL.

[00:06:01]And with this coordination, we could be able to provide the commercial gas cylinders to our licensees. So, we could maintain it still we are maintaining like more than 18 lakh million Despite all these what whatever you are hearing.

[00:06:19]>> Okay, all right. So, that's good to hear. The final question is what is the outlook for FY27? Because because of those cost allocations at the end of the quarter or the last quarter, you had a bit of an impact on the earnings. Is that going to shift in FY27? Do we look up?

[00:06:39]>> Like a revenue this year is around a growth in revenue is around 12%. So, we'll be maintaining that.

[00:06:46]>> I understood. All right. All right, sir.

[00:06:48]Thanks so much for taking the time.

[00:06:49]Pleasure speaking with you and wish you all the best for FY27.

[00:06:54]>> [music]