Allcargo Logistics Limited (ALLCARGO) Q3 FY2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

February 6, 2026

NSEI IN Industrials Air Freight and Logistics Earnings Calls 52 min

Earnings Call Speaker Segments

Operator

Operator
#1

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to the Allcargo Logistics Limited Q3 and 9 Months FY '26 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Suyash Samant from Stellar IR Advisors. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Suyash Samant

Attendees
#2

Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We have with us the senior management team of Allcargo Logistics Limited, Mr. Ketan Kulkarni, Managing Director and CEO; Mr. Deepak Pareek, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Sanjay Punjabi from the Investor Relations team. Management will be sharing operating and financial highlights for the quarter and 9 months ended 31st December 2025, followed by a question-and-answer session. Please note, this call may contain some of the forward-looking statements, which are completely based upon the company's beliefs, opinions and expectations as of today. These statements are not a guarantee of the company's future performance and involve unforeseen risks and uncertainties. The company also undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect developments that occur after the statement is made. I now hand over the conference to Mr. Ketan Kulkarni. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#3

Thank you. Suyash, thank you very much. Good afternoon, everybody, and a warm welcome to our Q3 and 9 months FY '26 earnings conference call. Thank you very much again for joining us and taking time out from your busy schedules. Our financial results and the earnings presentation for the quarter and the 9 months ended December 2025 have been duly uploaded on the stock exchanges, and we trust you have had an opportunity to review them. Starting with the macroeconomic environment, India continues to remain among the fastest-growing major economies with GDP growth projected at approximately 7.3%. This momentum is being supported by the mother of all deals with Europe and also the recent tariff announcements by the Indian and American governments. Strong domestic consumption, resilient urban and rural demand and sustained infrastructure-led expansion will further be the tailwinds for Bharat's progress. Even in the recent budget announcement, the government's FY '27 capital expenditure outlay has been increased to INR 12.2 lakh crores. This is a step-up in CapEx focused essentially on accelerating infrastructure, creation of road, railways, ports, logistics park, multimodal connectivity, training centers, et cetera, et cetera, which will all support manufacturing, export, MSME development and robust GDP growth. This will also democratize production, manufacturing and consumer centers in the country. The continued emphasis on large-scale infrastructure spending is hence expected to drive higher freight movement, improve the logistics efficiencies and reduce overall supply chain costs. We've recently seen the announcement that the overall cost of logistics in the country has been reduced by a few percentage points. All this augurs very well for the logistics industry, especially the organized industry in which we operate and business over the medium and long term is very optimistic. Key operating indicators further reinforce this. E-Way Bill generation under GST reached 138.4 million in December 2025, representing a robust 23.6% growth. This reflects a strong momentum in consumption, movement of goods across the country and essentially a very buoyant economic environment. GST collection for Jan 2026 stood at INR 1.93 lakh crores, up 6.2% year-on-year. Steady growth in both E-Way Bill volumes and GST collection points to a sustained strength in domestic trade. On the business front, the third quarter of financial year 2026 for us has been a transition quarter. Allcargo Logistics focused on quality and profitability. Our actions have led to visible improvements, resulting in better yields and reduced costs. And my colleague, Deepak Pareek, Chief Financial Officer, will further delve into this. Express business profitability improved in comparison to the same period last year. This came on the back of yield improvement and cost control measures. We also witnessed very strong and steady improvement in on-ground activity, leading to market share gain for us. The growth in the CL, Contract Logistics for us, consultative logistics was muted as certain e-commerce customers deferred their expansion plans. Our underlying client relationships across e-commerce, automotive, chemical remain very, very strong. As we focus on efficiency-led profitable growth and continue to strengthen our digital capabilities through cloud platforms, data analytics, control towers, upgraded WMS, et cetera, we will focus on unlocking new growth levers. Transportation and full truckload will be a focus area. With integration behind us, we expect EBITDA and PBT to grow faster than revenue in the coming quarters. With that, I would now like to hand over the call to Deepak, our CFO, who will take you through the financial performance for the quarter and the 9-month period. Thank you once again for your continued support and your participation. It is a pleasure, as always, to be on the call with all of you all. Have a good afternoon. Over to you, Deepak.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#4

Thank you, Ketan, for that detailed overview, and good afternoon, everyone, and a warm welcome to all of you on our Q3 and 9 months FY '26 earnings call. I will go through the financial results for the quarter ended 31st December 2025. During Q3 FY '26, Allcargo Logistics handled a total volume of 313,000 metric tonnes. The realization per tonne for Q3 FY '26 came in at INR 11,610 per metric tonne, which is 2% up year-on-year and 0.4% up from last quarter. The net cash stands at a healthy INR 88 crores. Moving to the consolidated financials. Revenue for the quarter stood at INR 516 crores versus INR 519 crores in the same period last year. It was INR 537 crores in the last quarter. The gross profit for the quarter stood at INR 153 crores, which is in line with our year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis performance. The EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 61 crores, which is also in line with year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter performance of the company. On a 9-month basis, the revenue reached INR 1,544 crores, a 7% growth from same period last year. The EBITDA came in at INR 174 crores, representing 9% growth as compared to last year. Coming to the Express business financial highlights, which we have shared in the presentation also. The revenue for the quarter stood at INR 364 crores as compared to INR 372 crores during the same period last year. It was INR 377 crores in the last quarter. The EBITDA from the business for the quarter stood at INR 18 crores, representing a 19% growth year-on-year basis and 6% sequentially. This growth in profitability has come on the back of our prudent decisions to improve service quality, strengthen profitability, managing costs and all the measures which Ketan addressed in his detailed overview. On a 9-month basis, the revenue reached at INR 1,081 crores vis-a-vis INR 1,073 crores in same period last year. The EBITDA came in at INR 44 crores, in line with the same period last year. This was on the Express business. Moving on to our consultative logistics business financial highlights. The business has a warehouse space under management of 8.1 million square feet as on the close of December 2025. The revenue from the business for Q3 FY '26 stood at INR 153 crores, up 5% year-on-year. The EBITDA from the business for Q3 FY '26 stood at INR 46 crores, which is a 2% growth on a year-on-year basis. On the 9 months performance, the revenue reached at INR 464 crores, a robust growth of 23% from same period last year. The EBITDA came in at INR 135 crores, a strong 16% growth from last year too. So with this, I would like to open the floor for question and answers. And here, I would like to end my discussion, and thank you for your participation in our earnings call. Over to you, Suyash, to take on the question and answers.

Operator

Operator
#5

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Rehan Saiyyed from Trinetra Asset Managers.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#6

Also, I have a couple of questions. First on your tech and AI implementation. I just want to understand how it's working. So you have introduced significant AI enablers and an integrated control tower into your digital ecosystem. So from an operational standpoint, has already resulted in measurable improvements in vehicle turnaround times or a reduction in load during this steady quarter?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#7

Sorry to tell you, but your question was due to bad voice quality not received very well here. I don't know if others on the call had a similar experience. If others have not had that experience, I would request somebody to sum up the questions so we can take the answer.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#8

Can I repeat the question again?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#9

Your voice quality is the same.

Operator

Operator
#10

Mr. Saiyyed, I would request you to please rejoin the queue and check your network connectivity, please.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#11

Am I audible now?

Operator

Operator
#12

Still, you are cracking a bit.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#13

Now? Hello.

Operator

Operator
#14

Yes, please proceed.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#15

Yes. So my first question is around your tech and AI implementation. So you have introduced GenAI enablers and an integrated control tower into your digital ecosystem. So from an operational standpoint, has the [indiscernible] already resulted in measurable improvements in vehicle turnaround times or a reduction in load during this steady quarter? This is my first question.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#16

We could hear your first question clearly, and thank you for your patience and understanding and repeating it. It was on AI and control tower. I think clearly, through our numbers, you will see the focus was on to improve service quality, strengthening profitability and managing cost. The tech interventions are also a part of that responsibility that they took upon themselves. So whether it is AI in generating docket shipment directly from reading a barcode and without manual intervention, whether it is AI in terms of classifying the thousands of e-mails that come and the service quality intervention that we need to do and where whether it is the control tower that maps all our vehicles on the nation's roads 24/7, whether it is the app that tracks our Gati associates on the nation's street that deliver about 6 shipments every second. All this, the platform of tech that we have enabled, and we will continue doing so, a huge, huge credit goes to that tech piece.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#17

Okay. That's very helpful. And my second question is around like if you can give this understanding a bit about sector-specific strategy that you are doing. You are focusing on the auto and engineering and consumer fast retail segment for cross-selling synergies. So are there any specific subsectors within food and pharma, which currently makes up 22% of your revenue mix where you plan to deploy the new life science and health care temperature control solutions mentioned in your growth [indiscernible]?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#18

Okay. Now let me again repeat your question so that I can answer it better. You want to know about the sectors. You also want to know about food and pharma and where the life science and sorry...

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#19

Health care temperature.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#20

And temperature-controlled areas, would you like to know about this on the Express side or the CL side?

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#21

CL side.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#22

On the CL side. So wonderful. I'll address your question on the CL side. On the life science and temperature control, that is already a subset of our food and pharma that you can see there. And within the pie, the contribution is much, much low. In our interaction with food and pharma companies and life science companies, we are seeing a huge white spot. We already do a dipstick of temperature control in some of our facilities for pharma customers. That is an area that we would like to further focus on. The 3% contribution will definitely improve going ahead. Why we have a head start is because of our expertise in chemical, where we handle hazardous material, which is a degree of difficulty more than doing food, pharma, e-commerce, auto engineering. We are seen as the experts on the table and Allcargo Logistics is the preferred service provider for chemical, and we will leverage that advantage as we move into the food and pharma, life science and temperature control sector.

Rehan Saiyyed

Analysts
#23

Okay. Fair enough. And last one bookkeeping question.

Operator

Operator
#24

Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Saiyyed. Sorry. Please rejoin the queue for more questions. The next question is from the line of [ Adarsh from Negen Capital ].

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#25

Am I audible?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#26

Yes, Adarsh.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#27

I have two questions. My first question is following the recent mass resignations of the MD, CFO and CS in the November of 2025, could you please provide some clarity on the new leadership's immediate priorities?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#28

So the new leadership, the new MD, the CFO and the CS are already in place.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#29

So do we have our priorities or are they the same?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#30

Sorry, please repeat your question.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#31

My question is, have our priorities changed with the changes in the management?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#32

Okay. Have the priorities changed?

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#33

Yes.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#34

So I'll have this question answered by Deepak Pareek, our CFO.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#35

Yes. Thanks, Ketan. So I would answer in two parts to your answer. See, we had the transition of management. We had the scheme of merger, which was effective on 1st October. That has resulted in a management shift or a change -- mandatory change in management. The Allcargo Logistics, which was undertaking various businesses, mainly [ IFC ], the international freight management that has moved out to a separate company. So the management team of that company is also have been domiciled into the other new company. Allcargo Gati, which is merged with Allcargo Logistics. So the management team of Allcargo Gati has now -- have been given the responsibility in the name of to manage this business under the name of Allcargo Logistics. So nothing changes on a broader horizon. Just that the team which was managing earlier, Allcargo Gati is now managing Allcargo Logistics. I hope that answers your question. And the priorities remain the same, focus on service quality, enhancing business further and enhance shareholder value profitably.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#36

Okay. And my second question is, so regarding the 10.2% hike that has been effective this January.

Operator

Operator
#37

Sorry to interrupt, Adarsh. There's a lot of background noise from your end.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#38

Am I audible now?

Operator

Operator
#39

Still when you're speaking, we can hear some disturbance from your side.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#40

How about now?

Operator

Operator
#41

You please use your handset mode?

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#42

Yes, yes, I'm using my handset. Am I audible?

Operator

Operator
#43

Yes, please proceed now.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#44

Yes. My second question was with the 10.2% price hike effective this January, what is your strategy to prevent volume leakage to competitors like delivery? And how much of this increase will directly flow into the EBITDA margin for the coming quarters?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#45

I'll take the first half of your question, and maybe Deepak can join me in the second half of the question. But the price increase that we have announced becomes effective from 1st of Jan. You have seen that there is a yield improvement, which is essentially reflecting in the gross margin and the EBITDA margin improvement. We are very cognizant that the business operates on 2 important pillars. One is the yield pillar and the second is the volume pillar. So going ahead, we will balance both of these. We have a data science team that constantly looks at swings that happen by product, by geography, by customer and whatever interventions are needed, they are proactively taken. We are focused on both levers because we need to deliver growth. We are very, very clear on that front, and we need to deliver profitable growth. We are very clear on the second aspect of the business. Over to you, Deepak.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#46

Yes. Thanks, Ketan. So pricing is very important for our business, and we use, as Ketan mentioned, on the data science front to price all our products in a very optimal manner, which has market acceptability and all. If you see in our presentation on the Express side, we have given the price realization number, which has gone up by 2%. The growth would be -- will be slow, but definitely, the focus is there on that number to grow. And whatever delta will straight away have an impact flow through in our EBITDA. That's on Express. And also on Contract Logistics, it's slightly -- it's an engagement-driven business where you would require a lot of contracting for a longer space, where a lot of value add needs to be provided in the service. So we are doing that. Ketan in the earlier question he covered on the AI bit on the service enhancement improvement levels that will also result in the delta on that business front also in a similar manner. That's what we anticipate as we go to the next quarter.

Operator

Operator
#47

The next question is from the line of Vikram Kotak from Quest Capital and Investments.

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#48

I have one question for Deepak on the very maintenance question about what's the current net worth as on December? And what's the net cash level for the company?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#49

So net cash level, we have mentioned in the presentation, which is INR 88 crores.

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#50

Okay. And what's the net worth as on December '25?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#51

The net worth will be INR 500 crores. So INR [indiscernible].

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#52

My second question to Ketan on the Slide 17 about Vision 2030. Can you take us through what are the drivers for getting this growth till 2030? What are the synergy benefit you are seeing between the merger of AGL and Gati, both qualitative and quantitative. And are you taking any -- what do you say, inorganic growth in this vision statement -- so 3 questions on the vision side.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#53

No. Please repeat your third question. I got your first 2.

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#54

Yes. Okay. So Vision 2030, the targets which you said, is that any inorganic side also, is on the organic side?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#55

M&A and acquisition side.

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#56

Exactly. Yes, yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#57

What we have projected here as of now is organic growth. We are very clearly going to drive a growth strategy that's based on our current platform and grow that organically. Drivers on the Express side for that growth are going to be improvement in service quality based on tech. I kind of covered that earlier. What that does is allows us to go to customers, show value to them and ask for the volume at the right yield, giving us a better flow-through, which is invested back into the business through infrastructure tech, et cetera. So profitable growth, as I've said, I think, twice earlier, will be the key lever to drive this. We will always be an asset-light model that continues to be a focus. If you see our numbers, you will see the cost reduction focus in general and admin expenses, in employee expenses. So all these levers essentially resulting into what you will see on the right-hand side of the sheet. In terms of synergy, we have already drawn up a team that will look at customers on the seal side of the business and the Express side of the business. A lot of conversations have already begun with large customers on how we can play an integrated role that is much more deeper in their supply chain ecosystem. And we are getting a lot of positive moves from the customer side. I cannot name a customer, but as recently in the month of Jan itself, we signed a major multinational third-party logistics player that operates for a large automotive MNC and now is consuming both services and was previously consuming only one aspect of our business. very, very focused on driving that part. I hope.

Vikram Kotak

Analysts
#58

What -- yes, that's a great answer. What would be a tech budget, annual tech budget for us, technology budget?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#59

So yes. So as Ketan mentioned, we are not a CapEx-led model. We are an OpEx model. So most of our tech initiatives are under that framework where -- so in terms of putting in any new architecture, we have an outlay of INR 12 crores for the next financial year or full financial year.

Operator

Operator
#60

[Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of from Rushabh from RBSA Investment Managers LLC.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#61

I just want to understand on the vision that you said that you are targeting 20% EBITDA CAGR from FY '25 base. And looking at the 9-month number so far, we've only grown at 9%. So what is giving that confidence that we'll be able to grow?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#62

Yes. So this vision statement or strategy fact, which was shared in our analyst meet covers 3 years primarily. We're looking at '27, '28 and going to FY [indiscernible] . So this year, we had -- if you see the numbers which we have shared, we have a 7% growth as of December. And what we are -- the measures which we have taken in this quarter or the previous quarter, which we also shared in the earlier earnings call, the focus on service quality improvement enhancement. And on that regard, certain investments have to be done in terms of operating cost enhancement. So that has started giving us a result now. If you see quarter-on-quarter, Express business has shown a growth. And this quarter coming in, in the next quarter also, it will continue. So business -- Express business and even contract logistics business, the growth has to be in a steady manner, which actually now the current year '26, we are confident of achieving that. And next year, I think the strategy of roadmap will play in a very faster manner. So '27, '28 is the year which we are banking on very positively and we are optimistic that the target set in next year will be achieved.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#63

I just want to understand the volume front in the Surface Express side, we have been hovering around the 3 lakh tonnes mark since I think, many years. So what steps are we taking to increase volumes? Because ultimately, that will only drive our cost down. I understand that there will be a little bit of mix change from your key accounts to your MSME accounts, which are not affecting volumes and maybe that is reflected in the realization. Is that the strategy going forward?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#64

What is the strategy? Please come again with your second half of the question, please? I heard your first half, which said volumes are a little stagnant at 3 lakhs per quarter.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#65

Yes. So I'm just trying to get a sense...Am I audible?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#66

Yes, very much. Please go ahead.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#67

Yes. So just on the strategy part, like are the volumes stagnant because the MSME part of the business is increasing and so that doesn't reflect in the tonnes per se, but it reflects in the higher realization. Is that the way the volumes are stagnant?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#68

So volumes essentially usually dependent on, number one, the pricing strategy that we are going to follow. Number two, the changes in the mix, as you rightly said. But we are very cognizant of the -- as I said earlier also in the call that volume growth and yield growth, the mix will be the one that will drive us towards the goalpost of profitable growth. So that is very, very much a focus area. Secondly, a syndicated research that we obtain and so do most of the other players that operate in the segment. In the month of December, we were the only ones along with another to grow the market share. We were 1 of the 2, 3 other large players lost market share. And in the July, August, September quarter, it was a similar instance where we were the ones to gain market share, only player to gain market share. The other player was very, very marginal. [ In point 0.0x ] percentages and players lost their market share. So within the organized sector, the top 5 that we constantly triangulate against, we are in a much stronger position since the month of July ending till December.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#69

Whatever assumption that we've done for FY '28 EBITDA for the numbers, what is the impact realization that you guys are targeting? Currently, it is hovering at 11.6% that we shared in the PPT. So what is that number in FY '28 as per your projections?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#70

See, I think I would like the numbers to show that since it is giving a forward indication, I would not like -- but the percentage which we mentioned as the percentage which we are looking at to get to that because it's the upstreaming of entire thing, if you look at 10%, that will be a combination of both yield and volume taken together.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#71

Is it predominantly volume led or value-led growth? It is just giving you an indication.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#72

So it will be a mix of both. If you can say 50%, 50% can be attributed to both the delta.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#73

Okay. And what is the current pricing trends in the key accounts? I think earlier, there is some steep discounting happening. Have the prices stabilized? Or are we seeing some price hikes even this year? What is the trend in key account pricing?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#74

Key accounts, strategic MSME and retail, we have committed to grow the yield across all the 4 levers. That is the guidance I can give you. Of course, to grow key account yield by the factor compared to strategic or MSME or retail is much more difficult due to the volumes that key accounts give us. But as I said earlier in the call, with improving service quality, with the tech platform supporting that improved quality, a very, very strong network with the control tower operating, we are seeing huge increments in the key service quality metrics that we have in our QBRs, quarterly business reviews that we have with KEA customers that is being appreciated and there is a reciprocal effect. So the management of yield will be driven across all the 4 verticals that we operate in.

Rushabh Shah

Analysts
#75

Directionally, can we expect Q4 could be better than Q3, given that generally in the past, it has been seasonally a better quarter for us?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#76

Yes. Definitely.

Operator

Operator
#77

[Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of Vedante, an individual investor.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#78

My first question is on consultative logistics business. So as we can see the 9-month FY '26 revenue and EBITDA is showing strong growth. But as we come to Q3, there is a Q-o-Q dip. So is this a seasonality factor? Or does it reflect a delay in some kind of customer ramp-up? And how confident are we of sustaining the double-digit margins going forward?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#79

I'll take your second half of the question first, [ Vedante ], and say we are very, very confident of improving the margins. In my opening remarks, I said that the concentrated logistics business was a bit muted as certain e-commerce clients deferred their expansion plans. But our underlying client relationship across e-commerce, automotive, chemical is very, very strong. And we are confident of a better quarter, as I even expressed for the Express side of the business earlier to another joining on the call.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#80

So are we seeing a better Q4 in this segment?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#81

Definitely.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#82

Okay. Similar to that, I would like to -- can you talk a little bit more on the Air Express? How are things looking as of now? What is your strategy to scale this up?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#83

Definitely. So the Air Express business, we have grown in terms of revenue in the 9-month period and also in the quarter-on-quarter. There is a nudging double-digit growth Q-on-Q. We could have -- I would have personally liked it to be much higher. The strategy is definitely a strategy to focus on the business further going ahead into FY '27, '28. As we are exploring new opportunities, we are finding a lot of synergies with the Ground Express business. Now with consultative logistics being a part of the portfolio where we go to customers, we would like to be the single point of contact for a customer for all his express movement needs. So this is a focus area for us. And you can see the green, in fact, on Slide 11 of the presentation for Air Express and a little bit of red on the surface side, but definitely a focus area.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#84

I can clearly see the growth on Slide 11. Next, can you express a bit on Q4 demand? How is the quarter 4 demand looking as of now? And can you put this into numbers of volumes? How is it looking? Any guidance for FY '27?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#85

As Jan has started and we enter February, we are very confident of how Q4 is going to shape up for us. As I said earlier, some of your other colleagues on the call also asked us about both the Express and CL business, how Q4 is going to look, how it's going to be, is it going to be better? And the answer was definitive definitely. So I will stay with that answer. In terms of numbers, I will not be able to make a forward-looking statement at this time, but I will definitely download a huge dollar of confidence on the table for Q4 numbers.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#86

Okay. And no guidance for FY '27 as...

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#87

Slide 17, if you look at -- you will get indicative guidance on revenue, margins, EBITDA, if you refer to Slide 17.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#88

My last question would be, as we can see, we are practicing an asset-light strategy and there's a good net cash position. So how are you prioritizing capital deployment between technology investments, network expansion and potential deleveraging? So -- and how will our return ratios look going forward?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#89

Yes. So you summed it right, actually. The 3 blocks which are deleveraging OU enhancement and technology upgradation, these are the 3 blocks where we have to use the entire cash in a very judicious manner. Right now, the allocation is done frugally across technology and we -- and that's giving us the relevant ROI. On the AI and other front where the investment would require, I think that also is already factored in the budget, which I mentioned. OU modernization is some piece which we were looking, but we had deferred it for next year. That could be in the region of INR 10 crores to INR 15 crores for next financial year, not in this year. On the deleveraging front, yes, we would look at pairing out some of the debt. But I think we are -- that is not much of a concern because that's within the tolerance level. So we would do it in a phased manner. Over the next 2 quarters, actually, if you see quarter 3, the debt profile could be -- sorry, Q1 of next year, the debt profile will be slightly lower as compared to what we are now. Yes. So we will use it under these 3 buckets on a systematic manner. That's what I would say.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#90

What kind of investments are we looking in technology advancement every year or every quarter? Can you put it in the number?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#91

On a year, we are looking at INR 12 crore number. On a quarter-on-quarter, there will be around INR 2 crores to INR 3 crores, which would be spread across 5 to 6 key initiatives, which will have a direct impact on service level improvement and better customer experience. These are the 2 themes of those investments would be...

Operator

Operator
#92

[Operator Instructions]. The next question is from the line of [indiscernible] an individual investor.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#93

I just wanted to understand when you say asset-light, can you explain what that means because you have your own trucks, right? Or is this...

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#94

We are on an asset-light model, Thomas. We don't own any of our trucks. We are -- these are -- that's the model actually available on rent...

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#95

Okay. So you've got -- you lease it from third party. Is that right?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#96

Yes. Correct.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#97

And I just wanted to understand, now I think in the last call, you had mentioned that you were taking price hikes. And I'm just trying to understand, I thought I had read somewhere that some of the other players were cutting their prices. Did I misunderstand that? Or is it a universal thing that everyone is increasing their prices when it comes to express delivery?

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#98

Yes. Thomas, I will only talk for ourselves, not looking others. We are definitely looking at yield enhancement measures resulting in profitable growth is what we have given a clear indication on the call.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#99

Okay. And even with these price hikes, which you took in January, right?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#100

That's right.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#101

Okay. And so far, the discussions that you had with customers, you're saying that, that will lead to increasing volume -- increased volume.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#102

Yes, the endeavor of the business is always to increase volume, as I said earlier on the call, on the basis of no compromise on the yield resulting in profitable growth.

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#103

Okay. And just one last question. I mean, in the -- right now with all these free trade agreements and all that, do you also assist the customers from the port onwards? Or do you -- is the contract after that?

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#104

Sorry, please come again?

Unknown Analyst

Analysts
#105

Do you assist the customers like imports from the port onwards, you take the -- you assist the client? Or is it from the warehouses from the plant? Do you do services even from ports is what I wanted to know.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#106

We have 3 service lines. One is the CL line, which has warehousing as a core component and also has full truckload as a core component. Our Express business is essentially part truckload, where a truck is filled with multi-client shipments. The business operates in a manner that wherever a customer or client wants us to pick up a shipment or deliver a shipment in either a full truckload or Express movement, we are willing to do that. And if there is storage needed at any time during the movement of the shipment, that is also offered in our warehousing side, which is the CL side. Various value-added services are also embedded on the warehousing side where we could de stuff, enhance the shipment by labeling, et cetera. So that's how we will operate, Thomas. Also, the group has 4 companies, Allcargo Global in the merger, demerger, the company that's been formed will look at FCL and LCL, which is the full container load and less than container load, the loads that move on ships coming in and out of ports internationally. So that's the company that's focused on that.

Operator

Operator
#107

As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to Mr. Ketan Kulkarni for closing comments.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#108

Thank you, and it was a very, very insightful, knowledgeable conference for all of us. The questions were really of a very high order. And Deepak and I are grateful once again for all of you all to join on the call and wishing you all a very, very good evening. Thank you very much.

Deepak Pareek

Executives
#109

Thank you, everyone. Thank you.

Operator

Operator
#110

Thank you. On behalf of Allcargo Logistics Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us today, and you may now disconnect your lines.

Ketan Kulkarni

Executives
#111

Thank you.

This call discussed

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