- IRCTC expects strong growth in spiritual tourism to boost its FY27 business performance
- The company plans to diversify revenue by expanding non-fare income streams
- A new IRCTC website without captcha is in beta, full launch expected in Q2FY27
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is betting on a strong revival in tourism, particularly spiritual travel, as it looks to sustain growth across its businesses in FY27, Rahul Himalian, CMD, IRCTC told NDTV Profit.
Himalian said spiritual tourism is witnessing a boost, which is expected to support robust growth in the company's tourism business. He added that IRCTC will also focus on expanding its non-fare revenue streams as it looks to diversify its growth drivers.
ALSO READ: IRCTC Stock Falls 2% After Mixed Q1 Results And Market Pressure
The company is also working on a new website aimed at improving the user experience. Himalian said the new website will not have any captcha feature, with its beta version already launched. The full version is expected to be rolled out in Q2FY27.
IRCTC To Expand Catering Capacity
Himalian said IRCTC has already augmented two catering plants, while four more plants are expected to be added. The catering business remained the key driver of topline growth in Q1FY27.
He said catering margins could improve by 10-12% in FY27, while the company aims to maintain an EBITDA margin of more than 30% during the fiscal year.
However, profitability in Q1 was impacted by the West Asia crisis and other global headwinds, which weighed on EBITDA margins.
IRCTC Q1 Results
IRCTC's net profit declined marginally by 0.3% year-on-year to Rs 330 crore in Q1FY27 from Rs 331 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue rose 18.1% YoY to Rs 1,370 crore from Rs 1,160 crore, while EBITDA declined 2.7% to Rs 387 crore.
EBITDA margin contracted sharply to 28.2% from 34.3% in Q1FY26, reflecting the impact of global headwinds on profitability.
ALSO READ: IRCTC Q1 Results: Profit Stays Flat Despite 18% Revenue Growth
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