I R C T C — Q1 FY26 earnings call

Call held 14 Aug 2025

Management summary

IRCTC reported a stable and profitable Q1 FY26, with PAT growing 7.14% and EBITDA up 5.86%, driven by strong performance in Internet Ticketing and Tourism. While overall revenue grew 4%, the Catering and Rail Neer segments experienced subdued growth due to specific one-off factors and operational challenges. The company remains focused on operational efficiency and digital backbone to sustain positive trajectory.

Highlights

  • PAT of INR 330 crores, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 7.14%.

  • EBITDA stood at INR 397 crores, up 5.86% year-on-year.

  • EBITDA margin expanded to 34.27% compared to 33.55% in Q1 FY25, driven by cost optimization and better revenue mix management.

  • Revenue from operations grew by around 4% year-on-year, reaching INR 1,160 crores, primarily from Tourism and Internet Ticketing segments.

  • Internet Ticketing revenue grew 9.12% to INR 360 crores, with an EBITDA margin of 84%, and Tourism revenue grew 21.3% to INR 148 crores with an EBITDA margin of 8.7%.

Concerns

  • Catering revenue declined slightly by 2.15% to INR 547 crores, attributed to the absence of election special revenue from the previous year (INR 32 crores vs INR 4-5 crores this year) and a transition phase for ABSS stations.

  • Rail Neer revenue remained flat at INR 106 crores, impacted by the Bilaspur plant not working due to water extraction issues and reduced revenue capture from 500ml bottles for Vande Bharat trains despite improved utilization.

Key financials

  1. PAT ₹330 Cr +7.1%YoY
  2. EBITDA ₹397 Cr +5.9%YoY
  3. EBITDA Margin 34.3%
  4. Revenue from Operations ₹1,160 Cr +4%YoY
  5. Total Revenue ₹1,220 Cr +4.4%YoY

What they filed

Q1 FY27: revenue up 18.1%, net profit up 0.0% against the same quarter last year.

₹ Cr · quarterly
Line itemQ2 FY25Q3 FY25Q4 FY25Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26Q1 FY27
Revenue1,064 1,225 1,269 1,160 1,146 +8%1,449 +18%1,460 +15%1,370 +18%
EBITDA373 417 385 397 404 +8%465 +12%399 +4%387 −3%
Net profit308 341 358 330 342 +11%394 +16%327 −9%330 +0%
How to read this

₹ crore, as filed. The percentage beside a figure is the change against the same quarter a year earlier — never the quarter before, which would make every seasonal business look like it collapses and booms each year.

Segment breakdown

Share of Revenue
₹1,161 Cr Total
  • Catering ₹547 Cr 47.1%
  • Internet Ticketing ₹360 Cr 31.0%
  • Tourism ₹148 Cr 12.7%
  • Rail Neer ₹106 Cr 9.1%

Capital allocation

high confidence
  • Capex Capex disclosed
    • New office building capitalization ₹400 Cr
    • Rail Neer plant expansion (Danapur, Ambernath)
    Actually, if you see the things, we our building has two parts. One part is land, as per the accounting standard, that land value has to be taken separately from the building part, from the construction part. And out of INR400 crores, the major chunk of our amount of investment in this building is of land, which appreciates generally, doesn't depreciate. So we have capitalized only INR40 crores (approx.) of total investment and depreciation is counted on to that. ... Actually, we are only our Board of Directors already approved the expansion of our 2 major plants, one at Danapur and another at Ambernath. And there are a few plants in the pipeline at Prayagraj, at Ranchi, Bhagalpur, Mysuru. So we tendering process, we are already on to finalize the tender start the tendering process. And then it takes around a year and plus.

Guidance & targets

Capacity

  • Rail Neer plant expansion timeline Capacity · next 1 year · Medium confidence around 1 year and plus
    And there are a few plants in the pipeline at Prayagraj, at Ranchi, Bhagalpur, Mysuru. So we tendering process, we are already on to finalize the tender start the tendering process. And then it takes around a year and plus.

    — Sanjay Jain

Tourism

  • Bharat Gaurav rake additions Tourism · this financial year · High confidence one more rake
    Exact figure, I will not be sharing, but I can just give you a glance that we are adding one more rake of Bharat Gaurav train this financial year.

    — Sanjay Jain

  • Golden Chariot departures Tourism · this financial year · High confidence 3 to 5 departures
    And in addition, the Golden Chariot of Karnataka government, which we are running on an MOU, that is also getting booked this season. And we are expected to run 3 to 5 departures this financial year.

    — Sanjay Jain

Payment Aggregation

  • License acquisition timeline Payment Aggregation · from now · High confidence 12 to 18 months
    See, we are already into this business. And with the license which we are trying to get from RBI, in-principle approval we have already got and 6 months' time have been given by them to submit our paper. And then it will take around 6 to 8 months in getting a license. So total from now, if we say, it may be around 12 to 18 months. We'll be able to get this license.

    — Sanjay Jain

Revenue Growth

  • Non-convenience fee part of IT business Revenue Growth · full year · Medium confidence double-digit growth
    No, no, I'm simply saying that we grew by double digit this quarter, and the momentum is already there, and our plan is also there to grow exponentially in this field.

    — Sanjay Jain

Operations

  • Bilaspur Rail Neer plant restart Operations · this quarter · Medium confidence start it again
    One is our Bilaspur plant. It is not working at the moment because of some issue with the state government regarding the extraction of water. So that -- in this quarter, we are hopeful to start it again.

    — Sanjay Jain

What to watch in Q2 FY26

Bilaspur Rail Neer plant operational status

this quarter
Current Not working due to water extraction issues
Target Restarted operations

Why it matters

Resolution of this issue is key to improving Rail Neer segment performance and utilization.

One is our Bilaspur plant. It is not working at the moment because of some issue with the state government regarding the extraction of water. So that -- in this quarter, we are hopeful to start it again.

Risks & concerns

  • Catering revenue impact from one-off events and transition

    medium

    Catering revenue was down 2.15% YoY due to the absence of election special revenue from the previous year and the ongoing transition phase for ABSS stations.

    Management acknowledged

  • Rail Neer production and revenue challenges

    medium

    Rail Neer revenue was flat due to the Bilaspur plant being non-operational (water extraction issues) and reduced revenue capture from 500ml bottles for Vande Bharat trains.

    Management acknowledged

  • Geopolitical events impacting Tourism

    low

    The Tourism segment had suffered setbacks due to geopolitical events in the past, but is now showing strong recovery with 21.3% growth.

    Management downplayed

Q&A highlights

6 direct, 1 evasive
Catering revenue decline and specific reasons Partial
our overall revenue increased by around 4% and our Tourism grew by 21% and IT business also grew by 9%. Our growth in Rail Neer remained flat and a slight dip in Catering, the reason being there was a temporary phenomena like we last year, same quarter, we ran election special and a sizable amount, around INR32 crores worth of revenue generated from that business, whereas this year, it was only INR4 crores to INR5 crores. So that was the main reason we find about Catering.

Analyst questioned the decline in Catering despite growth levers; management attributed it to a one-off election special revenue from the prior year and ongoing transition for ABSS stations, but did not quantify the ABSS impact.

Asked by Jinesh Joshi

Lost revenue from ABSS station transition Evasive
That figure we'll give you later. We'll send you across.

Analyst sought quantification of revenue loss from ABSS station transition, which management deferred, indicating a lack of immediate transparency on a key impact factor.

Asked by Jinesh Joshi

Flat Rail Neer revenue despite improved utilization Direct
One is our Bilaspur plant. It is not working at the moment because of some issue with the state government regarding the extraction of water. So that -- in this quarter, we are hopeful to start it again. Secondly, the election special, which we ran last year has a component of Rail Neer also. That is not there this time. And thirdly, we have introduced a new 500 ml bottle for Vande Bharat train. So despite our utilization has improved, but effectively, because of 500 mL bottles, the revenue capturing is less.

Analyst questioned the flat Rail Neer performance; management provided specific operational issues (Bilaspur plant, election special absence) and product mix changes (500ml bottles) as reasons, clarifying the underlying factors.

Asked by Jinesh Joshi

Flat depreciation expense despite new office building capitalization Direct
Actually, if you see the things, we our building has two parts. One part is land, as per the accounting standard, that land value has to be taken separately from the building part, from the construction part. And out of INR400 crores, the major chunk of our amount of investment in this building is of land, which appreciates generally, doesn't depreciate. So we have capitalized only INR40 crores (approx.) of total investment and depreciation is counted on to that.

Analyst sought clarification on an accounting anomaly; management explained that only a small portion of the capitalized building value (INR 40 crores out of INR 400 crores) is subject to depreciation, as land is not depreciated.

Asked by Jinesh Joshi

Breakup of Internet Ticketing revenue (convenience vs. non-convenience fee) Direct
Yes, sure. We -- actually, it is two-third of total IT revenue is convenience fee and 1/3 is non-convenience fee.

Provided a clear split of Internet Ticketing revenue components, which is crucial for understanding revenue quality and growth drivers.

Asked by Kartik Gada

Impact of 20% rebate on holiday packages on convenience fee Direct
First of all, I must compliment Ministry of Railways for bringing this 20% discount in this festive season of Diwali and Chhath. And simultaneously, I must tell you, that we have no impact on our convenience fee because both -- we will be having 2 PNRs, one for onward journey, another is for return journey. And convenience fee, we'll be charging the same rate.

Clarified that the 20% rebate, while beneficial for customers, would not negatively impact IRCTC's convenience fee revenue due to the separate PNR structure.

Asked by Kartik Gada

Timeline for payment aggregation license and monetization Direct
See, we are already into this business. And with the license which we are trying to get from RBI, in-principle approval we have already got and 6 months' time have been given by them to submit our paper. And then it will take around 6 to 8 months in getting a license. So total from now, if we say, it may be around 12 to 18 months. We'll be able to get this license. And that will help us in capturing business of -- other than our ticketing also.

Provided a clear, albeit long, timeline for securing the payment aggregation license, indicating that full monetization beyond ticketing is still 12-18 months away.

Asked by Rahul Jain

Growth in non-convenience fee part of ticketing business Direct
See, I think, Rahul, you should check your figure again. Because in non-convenience fee, we on a year-on-year basis, this quarter, we have grew by 17%. And any double-digit figure in this, to my knowledge, is a good one, but we are not satisfied. We are planning to do many things into this.

Management corrected the analyst's perception of 'not meaningful jump' in non-convenience fee, highlighting a 17% YoY growth and outlining future initiatives like sole tendering rights for ads and an OTA platform to further boost this segment.

Asked by Rahul Jain

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Detailed narrative

Q1 FY26 Performance Overview

IRCTC reported a stable and profitable first quarter for FY26, with Profit After Tax (PAT) reaching INR 330 crores, marking a 7.14% year-on-year growth. The company's EBITDA stood at INR 397 crores, an increase of 5.86% compared to the previous year. This performance led to an expansion in EBITDA margin to 34.27% from 33.55% in Q1 FY25, attributed to continued emphasis on cost optimization and effective revenue mix management. Total revenue for the quarter was INR 1,220 crores, up 4.36% YoY, while revenue from operations grew approximately 4% to INR 1,160 crores.

Segmental Performance Highlights

The Internet Ticketing segment continued to be a strong revenue driver, contributing INR 360 crores with a 9.12% year-on-year growth and an EBITDA margin of 84%. The Tourism segment showed impressive growth, with revenue increasing by 21.3% to INR 148 crores and its EBITDA margin improving to 8.7% from 7.6% in the prior year. In contrast, the Catering segment's revenue was slightly lower by 2.15% at INR 547 crores, and Rail Neer revenue remained flat at INR 106 crores.

Catering and Rail Neer Challenges

The slight dip in Catering revenue was primarily due to the absence of the 'election special' business, which generated INR 32 crores in the same quarter last year but only INR 4-5 crores this year. Additionally, the segment is undergoing a transition phase with the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme (ABSS) upgradation, impacting license fee generation from static units. For Rail Neer, despite improved capacity utilization of 87.04% (up from 86.8%), revenue remained flat due to the Bilaspur plant being non-operational (water extraction issues) and a shift to 500ml bottles for Vande Bharat trains, which reduced revenue capture.

Tourism Segment Growth and Initiatives

The Tourism segment demonstrated robust growth, with management noting a 20% increase in Maharajas' Express bookings. IRCTC plans to add one more Bharat Gaurav rake this financial year and expects 3 to 5 departures for the Golden Chariot. New circuits like 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Circuit' and 'Dev Bhoomi Kedarnath Kartik Swami tour' have been introduced, alongside 'Ganga Ramayana Yatra' and 'Bharat-Bhutan Mystic Mountain Yatra', indicating a strong pipeline of new offerings.

Internet Ticketing and Digital Strategy

The Internet Ticketing segment continues to be highly profitable, with 87.78% of total reserved tickets on Indian Railways now booked through IRCTC's portal. The non-convenience fee portion of this segment grew by 17% year-on-year this quarter. IRCTC is actively pursuing initiatives to further monetize this segment, including floating a tender for sole tendering rights for advertisements, leveraging AI for cross-selling, and developing an integrated OTA platform to enhance its digital offerings.

Capital Expenditure and Future Expansion

IRCTC capitalized a new office building worth INR 400 crores, though depreciation is only applied to approximately INR 40 crores, as land is not depreciated. For Rail Neer, the Board has approved expansion for two major plants in Danapur and Ambernath, with others in the pipeline at Prayagraj, Ranchi, Bhagalpur, and Mysuru. The tendering process for these new plants is expected to take over a year. The company is also awaiting a payment aggregation license from RBI, which is projected to take 12 to 18 months to secure after in-principle approval.

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