IRCTC Q3 Results: Profit Rises 17%, But Misses Estimates

The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp.'s third quarter profit rose though it missed analysts' estimates due to a lower mix of its internet ticketing business.

The national transporter's net profit increased 17.4% to Rs 299.9 crore in the quarter ended December, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday. That compares with the Rs 302.6-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

• Revenue rose 21.81% to Rs 1,118.3 crore vs Rs 918.06 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 1,069.8 crore).

• Ebitda grew 20.92% to Rs 393.97 crore vs Rs 325.8 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 377.0 crore).

• Ebitda margin narrows 25 bps to 35.22% vs 35.48% (Bloomberg estimate: 35.2%).

• Net profit up 17.40% at Rs 300 crore vs Rs 255.52 crore (Bloomberg estimate: Rs 302.6 crore).

The decline in margin was due to higher contribution of other segments such as catering, state teertha and tourism, which are its low-margin segments in comparison with internet ticketing.

The contribution of internet ticketing to overall revenue decreased to 29.9%, as compared with 32.8% in the previous quarter. In terms of profitability, the segment contributed to 73.8% of the company's total profit during the quarter.

Shares of the company ended 1.16% higher on Tuesday before the results were announced, as compared with a 0.59% increase in the benchmark Nifty 50.