Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary
July 27, 2026
Earnings Call Speaker Segments
Operator
operatorLadies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to Container Corporation of India Limited Q1 FY '27 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Kunal Shah from DAM Capital Advisors. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Kunal Shah
analystYes. Good afternoon. Welcome to the 1Q FY '27 Earnings Call of Container Corporation of India. We have the management being represented by Mr. Sanjay Swarup, the Chairman and Managing Director. I would like to hand over the call to Sanjay sir for his opening remarks, post which we can take up the Q&A. Thanks, and over to you, sir.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. Good morning to all of you. I'm being joined by Mr. Ajit Kumar Panda, Director of Project & Services; Mr. Vijoy Kumar Singh, Director of International Marketing and Operations; Mr. Vivek Gupta, Director of Finance; and Mr. Harish Chandra, Principal Executive Director of Finance and Company Secretary. I am glad to announce that the rail freight margin has increased. Board of Directors have declared a dividend of INR 1.60 per share, that is 32% on par value of INR 5. And the throughput of the company was all-time high for any first quarter, Q1, that was 1.4 million TEUs, registering a growth of 9% year-on-year, in which EXIM's contribution was 9.8% growth, domestic was 6.2% growth. Rail freight margin also increased by 85 basis points. That is from 26.96% to 27.81%. And rail freight margin has increased. At the same time, we have increased the market share also. In EXIM, it has increased by 90 basis points. In domestic, it has increased by 370 basis points. And overall increase in market share is 160 basis points despite increase in margins also. Lead has also increased by overall 2% for the company, primary contributions being in domestic long lead movement, Nepal movement and double stack for JNPT. Volume of business to Nepal has seen a growth of 61%, which is a very handsome increase in this Q1 on a year-on-year basis. Market share at JNP increased by 4.2%. Mundra, it was a slight drop. Pipavav, it was flat, almost same. Empty running cost has also reduced by 10%. EXIM material contribution of 30% reduction and domestic 1.5%. And one more development, which is very important for us is the connectivity of DFC to JNPA, which were achieved on 20th June 2026. And I'm happy to announce that double stack trains are running from JNPA to various terminals, primarily to North India, from 20th June 2026. One more product that we had introduced was bulk cement transportation in tank containers. Now we have a healthy fleet of around 700 tank containers. Apart from that, industry has also purchased on their own. So in the country, we have a fleet of around 1,000 tank containers now. We have given orders for 2,000 more tank containers. So by this financial year-end, we will have a very good fleet of tank containers, which will positively contribute to both top line as well as bottom line. Infrastructure additions have been quite good in Q1. We have commissioned 19 high-speed rakes, and we are on path to achieving 500 rakes by 2028. We have procured 560 new containers. Now our fleet is more than 58,000 containers of our own. CapEx, we have achieved around INR 118 crores. So as per the budget for this financial year, INR 945 crores, I would like to keep it intact. Maybe after Q2, we will revisit the budget, whether to increase it or not. EBITDA margin also have been very good in this quarter, we have achieved EBITDA margin of 23.6%. Year-on-year, it was -- it is increased. Last year in Q1, it was 23.1%. So again, a growth in EBITDA margin also. PAT standalone results, PAT has also seen a very good growth of 7.7%. Now I will briefly give the business scenario in both EXIM and domestic. As I told in EXIM, double stack trains have started from JNPT to Dadri, to Kathuwas and Varnama. It's a big boost to trade. We are in talks with senior officers of Indian Railways. Once the monsoon completes its cycle from October, we will announce assured transit time frame between North India and JNPT, which will enable movement of cargo from road to rail. Shift of cargo will be there. We are expecting a very good shift after assured transit train has started from October. Then new DPD long lead service from JNPT to Kolkata was started in this quarter. New LCL export service from Dadri to DIP/JNPT was started in this quarter, which is a significant milestone for EXIM movement. We achieved 45% growth in reefer exports, refrigerated exports in this quarter year-on-year, 8% growth in DPD movement then we achieved 9% growth in laden exports and around 5% growth in laden imports. In almost all the ports, we have seen a growth. Primarily Chennai, we got 10% growth; Kamarajar Port, 88% growth; Vizag Port, 57% growth, which is a very good growth for our company in Q1. Now I will come to domestic. Domestic, we started assured transit train from TKD to Kolkata via Agra and Kanpur around 8, 9 months back, which has been quite well received by trade. We are getting good business on this. There are firm indications from Indian Railways that they're going to announce another assured transit train from South India to North India, which will be announced very soon by Ministry of Railways, which will further increase our domestic business. Bulk cemented tank containers is a very big hit in trade, and we are getting very good business in this. Now with having good fleet of tank containers, we hope to ramp up good volumes and positive contribution to top line as well as bottom line. Gunny Bales traffic, which was in between, it was stopped, has again started. We are getting good demand in Eastern India for Gunny Bales traffic. One more development is the big -- very big order we are going to sign very soon from a leading Maharatna company of Government of India based in South India. And from South India to Western India, we will be getting very good business of domestic, in which every year, we will add 1 million tonnes in domestic as a result of this agreement. This agreement we are going to sign in another 1 week or 10 days. Apart from that, several reforms have been announced by Honorable Minister of Railways for containerization of various commodities like salt, fly ash, fertilizer, food grains. This will give further boost to our domestic business. So at this point of time, now I'm going to revise my guidance for this financial year. Revised guidance will be EXIM will be 15%, domestic will be 25%. Overall guidance will be 18% for this financial year. With these so many developments taking place in EXIM as well as domestic, we are quite bullish, and we are quite confident that we will be able to achieve this much growth. So this is all from my side as far as opening remarks are concerned. Now we are ready for question and answers.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Alok from Motilal Oswal.
Alok Deora
analystSo just had a couple of questions. One is if you can just help with the originating volumes for this quarter?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. Now the originating volume for this quarter for EXIM, it was 561,025 TEUs and domestic 106,114 TEUs, total is 667,139 TEUs.
Alok Deora
analystGot it. And sir, I just wanted to understand, I mean, when you are giving this guidance, it's for the handling volume or originating volume? When you have revised...
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNormally, we are giving guidance only for handling volumes.
Alok Deora
analystOkay. Okay. So if I just look at the handling volume numbers, I mean, there's -- if we go by the guidance which you have just upgraded now, so there's a lot of catch-up required, especially in the domestic side because currently, in the first quarter, we have done far below the guided number. So what gives this confidence actually, if you can just highlight on that, sir?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveAs I explained in my opening remarks, there are a lot of things which are happening. Maybe you are not able to see that impact in Q1. So now all these things are materializing. And we have 9 more months in this financial year. So definitely, all these will have a positive impact, and we will be able to achieve the -- already 6% we have achieved in domestic. And all these developments that I highlighted in my opening remarks, we are confident to achieve 25% growth.
Alok Deora
analystGot it. Just last question. So if you can just share the rail coefficient. And has there been any significant change at JNPT after the DFC there? So just you can highlight on that, please.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee now JNPT DFC, as I told you, it is commissioned on 20th of June. So in the Q1, only 10 days were left. So 10 days is just too short period because quarter consists of around 90 days. So 90 days is a very short period to have an impact. Apart from that, if you have been observing, there have been heavy rains in Mumbai, which disrupted the movement temporarily. And it has been followed by heavy rains in Gujarat now. So all this -- that is why we are not going to start -- we are not starting assured transit train in this weather. From October only, we will announce assured transit train. So then impact is visible, but it's not a sizable impact as of now.
Alok Deora
analystGot it. So even in the second quarter, we might not really see any impact coming through?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, second quarter has just started. So it will not be proper to comment on that. So we are quite positive and let us see because our services are there and a lot of pendencies are also there at ports. So things are shaping up in a positive manner only.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Mukesh from Avendus Spark.
Mukesh Saraf
analystYes, sir. My question is again regarding the DFC and how road to rail can happen. So if I just go back to last few years, you would have seen this road to rail happen in the Gujarat ports. But I mean, absolute volume did not see that much of an improvement for us because of this road to rail. So just trying to understand how different will JNPT be for us vis-a-vis Gujarat when it comes to the DFC and the road to rail?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThere is a slight difference because in Mundra and Pipavav, DFC was not entirely going up to the ports. There was a feeder route also involved. And -- but in JNPT, it will be pure DFC going up to ports. So feeder route means other trains are also running on that route. But now on this circuit, now NCR and JNPT, there will be only freight trains running on that track. So definitely, movement will be faster and things will be -- efficiency will be more.
Mukesh Saraf
analystRight. Any sense you can give us currently how much of JNPT cargo, which is moving to the hinterland is moving on road right now, the containers? And what's your expectation, say, after 1 year of DFC being operational, how much of that could have shifted to rail?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, as of now, around 15% to 16% is the rail coefficient at JNPT as of now. Rest all is moving by road. And of course, there is some transshipment volume also. I expect that once DFC now has been commissioned, so in another 2 to 3 years' time, we should have double rail coefficient. Actually, it should be 30%-35%. That is as per National Rail Plan also. We should have 30%-35% rail coefficient at JNPT.
Mukesh Saraf
analystSir, this 15%, 16% rail coefficient, the remainder of 85%. I mean everything obviously doesn't go to the hinterland. There will be a lot of short distances, which anyways has to move by road only. So the addressable market probably is lesser than that because we are looking to take the containers to Northern hinterland. So that is what can probably move from road to rail, isn't it, sir?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, it includes transshipment volume also. And rightly, you have pointed out some short distance movement also. We have all the details with us. But at this forum, I don't think I have that much time to share that detail.
Mukesh Saraf
analystRight. Got that. And sir, second question is, could you give us your market share, sir, the market shares in the Northern hinterland market? I think you used to provide that earlier. And you had mentioned earlier on that some distance -- short lead distances you had exited. So it will be helpful to understand where we are on that now.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSo I don't have a market share for Northern hinterland only. I have pan-India market share with me, rail transportation share. So now the market share, as I told you in my opening remarks, has increased both in EXIM as well as domestic. In Q1 year-on-year, last year, it was -- in EXIM, it was 53.1%. Now it is 54%. So there is an increase of 90 basis points. In domestic, it has increased from 55% to 58.7%. That is an increase of 370 basis points. Overall market share has increased from 53.6% to 55.2%. That is a growth of 160 basis points. So that is in Q1, we have seen a good increase in market share and good increase in margin at the same time.
Operator
operator[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of Achal Lohade from Nuvama.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystSir, first, if you could talk a little bit about the Nepal cargo, what is the opportunity there? How much are we doing now on an annual basis? And what was it in FY '26, the contribution from this particular sector?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee now Nepal cargo, we have seen an increase of 61% in Q1 on a year-on-year basis. In FY '26, in Q1, we ran 69 trains to Nepal, whereas in this FY -- in Q1, we have run 111 trains. So growth is 61% in Nepal traffic. So this is a very good growth, I should say, in Nepal business from -- basically from Visakhapatnam to Nepal, which is a very long lead traffic, 1,400 kilometers. We are able to run these many trains. One more development has taken place for Nepal. That is till now we have been running up to only Birgunj, which is a dry port in Nepal, bordering Raxaul. Raxaul is in India, Birgunj is in Nepal, only 4 kilometers apart. Now one more place, customs has granted us permission, and we have already started running train, one train already we have handled. That is at Biratnagar. Biratnagar is in Nepal, sorry, Jogbani is in India. So Jogbani, Biratnagar also, we have started train. So we propose to run around 8 to 10 trains every month for Biratnagar Jogbani also. So Nepal, we will be serving 2 places by train, Biratnagar Jogbani and Raxaul Birgunj. So in the coming months, you will see very good growth in Nepal movement.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystSir, if you could call out what was the contribution in FY '26 as a full year? And what would be that for FY '27? Just wanted to understand if this delta in terms of upward revision, how much of that is on account of Nepal?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThat number, I don't have with me right now. We can share it later on with you. Specifically in Nepal numbers, what contribution on overall volume, I don't have right now with me.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystNo problem, sir. I'll take it offline. Secondly, in terms of the EXIM growth, 15% is what you have called out, what is the underlying industry as in port volume growth you have built in, sir? Is that 10%, 12%, 15%?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNow this growth primarily will be through double stack movement through JNPT. This will be shifted from road to rail. Secondly, we have brought Jodhpur also on double stack. Till now, Jodhpur was not having double stack movement. So in this month only 3, 4 days, we will be handling first double stack train at Jodhpur. This will also shift cargo from road to rail. And thirdly, at Ahmedabad, again, we are having another terminal where we will have a double stack movement. Till now in Ahmedabad, we don't have double stack. CONCOR doesn't have double stack facility. That will further increase our business. There in South India, there is a terminal Kadakola, where we have in Mysuru, where we have got good cargo for waste paper. And for that also, we have got custom notification. This will also give a boost to our traffic. So like there are so many places where we expect that traffic will increase in EXIM segment.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystGot it. And if you could just clarify on the employee cost, sir, it was down 22% Y-o-Y. What should be the sustainable run rate we should work with? And the LLF cost, it was higher at INR 113 crores. Is that a new normal quarterly run rate?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, LLF already, we are having a 7% increase every year. But at the same time, we are -- in my earlier calls also, I told you, it's a continuous exercise that we are surrendering the terminals, which are no longer required without sacrificing our business. So that has been the company's policy. Constantly, we are doing. So in this quarter also, there is not much growth in LLF. As far as employee cost is concerned, I will request my PED finance to clarify.
Harish Chandra
executiveYes. Employee cost, I think there's a little fall as compared to last year. In fact, last year, there was a one-off -- a few transactions which were one-off. In fact, we paid some award to our employees in the last quarter, in the June '25 quarter. And similarly, there was also one-off. We have also contributed some amount to the Provident Fund trust. There was some provisioning for one of the investments, which didn't do well and which has been reimbursed to the trust. So that's the reason. Otherwise, there is no extraordinary thing which has happened.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital.
Sumit Kishore
analystSir, my first question is Q1 performance was quite good in EXIM given that it was in the backdrop of the West Asia crisis. Could you please elaborate on what has been the business impact in Q1 because of the regional geopolitical events? And how is it having a bearing on your ongoing performance in Q2, if at all?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, West Asia crisis had an impact on us in Q4 of last FY. As far as Q1 is concerned, rightly you have mentioned, we don't feel much impact, and we have good pendencies at ports. Exports also are showing good growth. As I mentioned that there has been a 9% growth in exports and 5% growth in imports in Q1 year-on-year basis. So in this quarter also till now, performance has been quite okay. But because of the good monsoons, the disruptions in train services are there. So we are feeling the impact of that. But as far as West Asia impact is concerned, there's not much impact, except on domestic in Morbi, we are feeling an impact because it has not come back to normal, Morbi where tiles are being produced.
Sumit Kishore
analystSure. My second question is, if you could speak about how double stacking panned out for CONCOR in Q1? And how does it compare on a year-on-year basis? And given the ramp-up in double stacking that you expect now, directionally, how do you expect the quarterly number to look like a couple of quarters down the line as you sort of take in the benefits of JNPT connectivity to DFC. Some comments there would be helpful.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, as a matter of fact, double stack saw a fall in this quarter, a fall of 12%. And because the imports that were there, mostly there were 20-feet imports. And on upper deck, only 40 feet are allowed in double stack. And JNP actually DFC was commissioned, only 10 days were remaining in Q1. So not much double stacking we could expect on that circuit. So -- but now we are hopeful that this will pick up with now this JNP DFC going in full form. So in the coming days, in coming weeks, we will have good double stack runs.
Sumit Kishore
analystOkay. So as compared to, sir, your double stack number for FY '26, which was 6,396, it was up barely 1%. How do you see the FY '27 number on double stacking pan out? And as per the unit economics that you are seeing on DFC right now, how much more sort of contribution at the EBITDA level or some sense that you could give us on what is the retained -- what does the efficiency gain that CONCOR is able to retain from a double stack rate on DFC versus pre-DFC economics?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, double stack, I see a very good growth once this JNP and all that stabilizes. I see at least a growth of some 8% to 10% on this circuit. As far as EBITDA margins are concerned, which will have a positive impact as a result of double stack, that calculations we have made. It is a rough calculation. I can't share on this forum as of now.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Aditya from Kotak Securities.
Aditya Mongia
analystCongratulations on a good set of results. Two questions from my side. The first one, I just wanted to clarify the market share numbers, are they based on handling volumes? Or are they based on originating volumes?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNow this market share is based on tonnage basically. That is railway tonnage carried by us. So strictly speaking, it is on originating volumes.
Aditya Mongia
analystUnderstood. That clarifies. The second part is that -- on this question is that on the EXIM side of things, there appears to be some dip in realization -- this is the originating volume numbers being taken into account on a Y-o-Y and a Q-on-Q basis. Could you give us some more color as to what is the driver behind the scenes?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, realization, as I explained earlier also, it's a function of 2 things. First is the tonnage and second is the distance. So both the things play. So NTKM is a word used in railways, NTKM or GTKM gross tonne kilometers. So it's a function of these 2 things. So I don't know what is your specific question. So if we multiply this...
Aditya Mongia
analystSorry to just come between, basically lead distance would have gone up, right? Because Nepal got added and a few long lead distance has gotten added. In that context...
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. If you see in detail, the tonnage has fallen in this Q1. Railway tonnage has fallen by 3.3%. Our tonnage in EXIM has fallen by 1.8%. The reason is the heavy cargo, which is metal scrap, iron scrap, aluminum scrap, machinery parts, they have not come. So even number of containers have increased, but the weight carried, that is heavy weight cargo has not come. So that is the main reason for fall in tonnage as well as fall in -- not that much commensurate realization because we have carried light cargo. Heavy cargo is now coming because of disruption in shipping services. Some cargo is coming, some is held up, it comes later on. So like that, it is there. Plus this scrap and all this cargo is impacted because of the international prices. If international prices increase, then the scrap import also comes down. So those factors also play an important role. So if you see the tonnage has fallen down. So that is the reason of fall in realization.
Aditya Mongia
analystJust a second question from my side, sir. These transit assurance rakes that are going to become more mainstream, could you give us a sense of when they have happened in the past? Has CONCOR been able to get a combination of both higher volumes and higher margins? And if some quantification you can put around those numbers?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee as of now, we are running assured transit train on domestic circuit between Delhi and Kolkata with stopover at Agra and Kanpur. So this has given us additional business. As far as financials are concerned, for this particular movement, I don't have with me right now. But we have got additional business that has been diverted from road to rail. Similarly, another assured transit train we are running from our MMLP at Dadri to Mundra Port, which is also giving us very good volumes and diversion has taken place from road to rail. Similarly, for this also, separate financials for this movement, I don't have with me. Now another transit -- assured transit will start from October between Dadri to JNP, which will further give us more volumes.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Priyankar Biswas from JM Financial.
Priyankar Biswas
analystSo this is Priyankar from JM. My first question is, sir, recently, we have heard in the news that there is a lot of flooding, especially on beyond the Dahanu and also in Gujarat lakes. So has there been any significant impact at least on our cargo volumes because of that? I mean, because of this incident?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. In Q1, we were impacted by heavy rains because there were heavy rains in Mumbai, you must have read in the news in the month of June. Because of that, there were disruption in train services, and it had -- our volumes would have been more -- so that was the impact in month of June. Now in the month of July, very rightly, you have pointed out, there is a heavy rains and flooding in Gujarat area, and that has definitely impacted our cargo movement in the month of July, but that is in Q2. So that impact you will see in Q2. But we hope that this rains are there, but the railway is also working. They repair the tracks very quickly, very efficiently. And we are quite hopeful that normalcy will come, and we will again resume our services.
Priyankar Biswas
analystSo sir, when you are giving the guidance of 15% EXIM growth, so you would have baked in this flood impact in Gujarat and maybe the impact of rains in Maharashtra in late June. So I think this is baked, right?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveI have taken this into account. Normally, the cargo, which has to be sent, it has to be sent. Once there is a flood and all road movement also is not possible. So -- and rail is more reliable movement. So definitely, it will be -- impact will be there, but that will be temporary. It will not be a permanent impact on the cargo movement.
Priyankar Biswas
analystAnd sir, one more thing. Like if I remember in the past few calls, we had provided an emphasis for better customer services to improve our first mile and last mile services. So can you say that how much part of your containers today that you are moving is covered under first mile, last mile? And what is your target, let's say, by end of FY '27 or FY '28? Some ballpark?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. Now the thing is that 3 years back, we were having only 10% cargo that we were able to give first mile last mile to our customers. Till at the end of FY '26, this number has gone up to 46%. So 46% cargo, we are able to give service to our customers for first mile, last mile. For rest 54%, customers are arranging the first mile, last mile movement themselves. Now for this FY '27, we have set up a target of 80%. From 46%, we move to 80%. By FY '28, 100%. So that is our target. That's a huge value addition for our customers. Customers are very happy with our services. And they want that everywhere we should give them service of first mile, last mile.
Priyankar Biswas
analystSir, if I can just squeeze one more in. Traditionally, you used to give us the rail coefficient by ports and also the market share at the port. So can you give us for JNPT, Mundra and Pipavav?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes, I can give you. In JNPT for Q1, rail coefficient was 14.13% and our market share was 62.6%. Last year, it was rail coefficient 15.5% market share was 58%. So there is a big growth in market share in JNPT. And Mundra, last year, the rail coefficient was 24.7%. This year, it is 24.5%, almost same. But our market share has slightly dipped from 36% to 34%. In Pipavav, the rail coefficient is same, 55% share is also same, 48.8%. This year, it is 48.2%.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Koundinya from Jefferies.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystSir, just the first question, just trying to reconcile. If we look at the rail volume growth from FOIS, it appears that the volumes for the industry declined by about 4%, while your volumes were at around 2%. I mean, just trying to understand the math behind this. I mean, obviously, it looks good. So where the difference looks like partly tonnage, which you explained in one of the conversations earlier, if you can elaborate a bit on that? And secondly, within that, July also looks like about 8%, 9% decline when I look at the data. So how should we look at the volumes for you in that context?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, first, I would like to clarify that July month is still running. It is still not complete. So it is premature to comment on July. For Q1, I can comment. Q1, as I explained earlier, the container growth is there in percentage terms. But in tonnage terms, the growth is not there in railway also has experienced 3.3% negative growth as compared to container -- ISO containers and 5.4% negative growth in domestic. The primary reason is that light commodities have moved in the containers. Heavy commodities have not moved. That is the primary reason for decrease in tonnage.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystUnderstood. Sir, given the way the global freight rates are, should we expect a similar trend to continue in the near term, especially given heavy cargo also constitutes the metal scrap, et cetera?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveI don't think so because the heavy commodities metal scrap and then machinery, machine parts is also there. So maybe because of the conflicts happening around the world. Sometimes some containers come quickly, some containers are stuck up some transshipment points. So they will be coming in due course. So I think in overall, if you see on an annual basis, it will all balance out.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystGot it, sir. Sir, my second question is on your market share at JNPT. Obviously, you did well this quarter. So what is it that you did differently, which helped this market share gain? And then obviously, DFC will benefit outside that? Or what are the other levers that are at hand, which can help you sustain this market share gain?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, actually, we introduced a lot of new products. One of the product was the Aushadhi Express, Pharma Express that we started between Hyderabad to JNP. And it was all refrigerated containers cargo, along with Maersk, we have started. So that has given us new line of business. It has been quite well received. Similarly, we started export service from Whitefield that is Bangalore to JNPT. Initially, we started with 1 train per week. Now it has moved to 3 trains per week. Such a good demand is there. And we focused on speedy clearance from JNPT and our imports are being cleared. We are focusing on a dwell time of 35 hours. Right now, we are not able to achieve that. But in the near future, import dwell time, we want to bring down to 30, 35 hours, which is the benchmark given by NITI Aayog also. So the speedy clearance of imports and focusing on new products. These are 2 major reasons of our increase in market share at JNPT.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystGot it, sir. Sir, if I may ask a couple of bookkeeping questions. Can you help us with the empty running costs...
Operator
operatorSorry to interrupt you, Mr. Koundinya, but can you please rejoin the queue? The next question is from the line of Krishnendu Saha from Quantum AMC.
Krishnendu Saha
analystSir, just wanted to understand some economics of JNPT. Sir, how many trains are we doing right now from JNPT?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveJNPT, we are doing around 11 to 12 trains every day CONCOR.
Krishnendu Saha
analystAnd after DFC comes in, say, suppose about in next year, when we are full fledged on, how many trains would those convert to double -- means from a DFC double stack train?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, number of trains would also increase when DFC comes, and many of them will be double stacked. So you can say around -- we will be doing around 15 to 18 trains per day from JNPT.
Krishnendu Saha
analystDouble stack?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNo, no, not double stack. All will not be double stacked. So about 15 trains are -- we are doing, sorry?
Krishnendu Saha
analystOkay. No, I was just trying to understand the economics. So if we're doing 11, 12 right now per day, single stack come next year post December, when the DFC is fully functional and we have no hiccups, how many double stacks will be doing compared to 11, which is single stack right now?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveOkay. Right now, we are not doing any double stack. And once in next December, you mean from 1.5 years from now?
Krishnendu Saha
analystNo, no. Next December means '27 January, say, '27 January.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYou are asking a forecast for '27 January.
Krishnendu Saha
analystSo let me rephrase that question. So right now, we're not doing any double stacking. We're doing single stacking to say 11 trains right now. And say, come December '26 or January '27, of this 11, how many can be converted to double stacking on the DFC?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, in 11 trains that we are doing right now, we are doing double stack also because double stack has started from 20th of June. So 11 trains, at least 3 to 4 double stack daily we are doing.
Krishnendu Saha
analystOkay. And this can increase too?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThis will further increase when the traffic starts shifting from road to rail. Then this will further increase. Let us see. We are hopeful that 6 months' time, actually increase will be gradual. 6 months time, maybe this 4 will increase to 6 or 7 trains per day, double stack.
Krishnendu Saha
analystOkay. And sir, how do you see -- do you see our lead distance on the EXIM side being stable after 1 year or it could increase slightly or it will be stable, stable after the full fledged DFC. How do you see the lead distance coming for us?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveLead distance in this Q1 in EXIM has increased from 688 kilometers to 714 kilometers. So it is seeing an increase because of the increase in Nepal movement, which is taking place. Already, there is an increase in lead.
Krishnendu Saha
analystSo you expect this lead distance to be stable going ahead?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. Yes, it will be more than 700 kilometers in EXIM.
Krishnendu Saha
analystOkay. And on the domestic side, do we still have to procure any more cement tankers or is it done for us?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSo we have already -- we are having a fleet of 700 tank containers and 2,000 more we have given order.
Krishnendu Saha
analyst2,000 more we have given order. And last question, any pricing increase you will be taking? Or this is what it is going to be for the -- what is the scenario of the price increase for the future?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveWe have already increased -- some price increase we already effected in EXIM.
Krishnendu Saha
analystHow much will that be, sir? In EXIM...
Sanjay Swarup
executiveDetails, I don't have right now.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Vinit Thakur from Plus91 AMC.
Vinit Thakur
analystMost of my questions have been answered, sir. But sir, could you give me what was the quarterly overview led to increase in our margins and what was the attributable factors to it?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveWhat exactly is the question? I'm not able to understand. Can you repeat it, sir?
Vinit Thakur
analystSo there is an increase in the margin, sir, right? There's a Y-o-Y, there's an increase in margin and operating profit as well. Could you just help understand what is the leading factors to it? I joined late, sir. My question may be repetitive, sir.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveIncrease in margin you are asking?
Vinit Thakur
analystYes, sir.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveIncrease in margin, the basic reason is the operational excellence. If you see the empty running has come down by 10%. And plus we are making domestic movement, we are now making circuits for that. So both sides loaded movements are there and plus double stack also, all these things are contributing to increase in margins.
Vinit Thakur
analystCould you help me understand the economics of double stacking?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveEconomics means what?
Vinit Thakur
analystWhat is -- what would be the potential revenue and how would it be different in terms of from the single stacking, how much revenue increase would yield and cost savings?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee double stack actually on upper deck, we pay 50% to railways. If you're asking the numbers, how much we have paid, how much margins are there, that I don't have with me right now.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Vignesh Iyer from Sequent Investments.
Vignesh Iyer
analystIf you could give some insight on our bulk cement business, how has the traction been for us in quarter 1? In terms of volume number, but just overall how the traction has been? And could you guide what is the target we are targeting for this year, if you could share?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee bulk cement is a very promising product that we have started. So there is a lot of demand from the industry. We have signed agreements with UltraTech Cement, Maha Cement, Ambuja Cement and all of them and several other companies also. But right now, because of shortage of tank containers, we are not able to meet the demand, as I explained in my opening remarks also. So -- but it has got a very good potential. Some of our big customers are themselves procuring tank containers for transportation of bulk cement and using our rakes for transportation. So once by the end of this financial year, we will have a very good fleet, strong fleet of tank containers, then there is very good growth. And once the full fleet of tank containers is available with us, we are targeting at least 1 million tonnes traffic of bulk cement every year from -- maybe from next financial year.
Vignesh Iyer
analystOkay. And on the Morbi side, sir, is the business still, I mean, entirely -- I mean, is there some business coming from Morbi now? Or is it like what it was in May, in the month of April, May when it was very tough time?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYour voice is not clear. I'm not able to understand what you are asking.
Vignesh Iyer
analystIs it clear now?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes, now it is better, yes.
Vignesh Iyer
analystYes, yes. So I just wanted to understand how is the business from Morbi? Because in quarter 1, the first 2 months, if I'm not wrong, the entire business was shut down due to the West Asia war. So if you could comment on how it has been for the month of June and July?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, Morbi business is now picking up, but it has not become normal because of the gas supply, as you are aware. So still it is much less than what it used to be. So we are expecting that it may resume, but still all the industries are not working to their full capacity.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Achal Lohade from Nuvama.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystIf you could help us with the empties cost first?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveEmpty for EXIM, it was INR 19.2 crores, last year, it was INR 27.7 crores. Domestic was INR 54.7 crores, last year, it was INR 65.6 crores. Total INR 83.9 crores, last year, it was INR 93.3 crores.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystGot it. Sir, just a clarification. On the basis of originating volume, if I look at the realization for domestic segment went up 10%, but the cost went up 12%. And on a per TEU basis, the -- actually the margin kind of declined. If you could explain what has driven this because the empties cost is fairly stable on a Y-o-Y basis. So what would have brought down the margin?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveLead is the reason because domestic lead has come down.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystIf you could help us with the lead number, sir, for the quarter?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. Last year, it was 1,356 kilometers. This year, it is 1,323 kilometers.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystUnderstood. And one more question, if I may, with respect to the of the total JNPT volume, how much is actually going to the North India in your opinion, sir? Is that 2 million? Is that 3 million, 4 million? What number would that be? And how much is that on rail at the moment according to you?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThat number, I don't have with me right now, please.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystGot it. And is it fair to say that the originating to handling ratio would be fairly stable for the years or you could see further declining actually in the current quarter?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveIt will be stable for the year.
Achalkumar Lohade
analystGot it. So you -- is it fair to say then in that case, the 15% EXIM growth is also on originating basis for you?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveI can't answer this question right now because you should be well aware that EXIM and handling have a particular formula. 15% growth in handling doesn't mean it will be 15% growth in originating also.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Koundinya from Jefferies.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystJust a couple of questions. One, if you can help us with the port-wise volume mix data?
Sanjay Swarup
executivePort-wise, yes. JNPT was 37%; Mundra, 33%; Pipavav 7%, Visakhapatnam, 6%; Chennai, 4.4%; Cochin, 5.3%. These are the main ports.
Koundinya Nimmagadda
analystSure, sir. What is the double stack, sir, this quarter vis-a-vis Y-o-Y, if you can share those numbers as well?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveYes. The double stack this quarter was 1,322. Last year, it was -- in Q1 was 1,508. So there is a drop of 12%.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Aditya Mongia from Kotak Securities.
Aditya Mongia
analystThe question that I had was more on the differential trends in market share across the 3 ports that you have. Could you give a sense why the company's offering is clicking in JNPT? And then you answered that question partly, but what I'm trying to say is that why -- what has to be done to make this more broad-based across Mundra and Pipavav as well? Can we think of launching new services over there? Or is that scope only limited to JNPT?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNo, no. We are, of course, launching new services. Always, we are in touch with our customers. It is not that we are neglecting other ports. So we are -- wherever cargo is, we are present there, and we are continuously in touch with our customers. Our marketing activities are going on in full swing. So JNPT, apart from JNPT, other ports are also very important for us. And it's not that market share has slightly dipped. Pipavav, it is same. So it doesn't mean that we have not given that much importance to these ports. These ports are very -- also very important, extremely important for us. And we hope to regain our market share very soon now at these ports also.
Aditya Mongia
analystSir, so differently, do we have a competitive advantage that works to our favor in JNPT and thus it is easier to gain market share over there versus other ports? Just trying to -- because if I see a 3- to 4-year series of this data, you have been continuously gaining market share in JNPT credit to the company, but you've been kind of losing it elsewhere. So is it that you have some competitive advantage, maybe the ICDs that you have, something that kind of sets you apart to cater to JNPT cargo better than others?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveMaybe actually the hinterland that we are serving because JNPT caters to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, Nagpur area, then Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka also Whitefield. So maybe hinterland also, we have very good presence. We have very big ICDs in these hinterlands. And Mundra, Pipavav cater mostly to North India, where there are a lot of ICDs present, we as well as private operators. So maybe that may be the reason. It's an interesting question that you've asked. We will further analyze it in detail.
Aditya Mongia
analystAnd sir, maybe just a clarification of this 37% that is JNPT in your cargo mix, let's say, whatever, 37 volumes out of the 37 volumes, how much go to NCR for you? And how much go outside NCR?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThat number, I don't have with me right now. I can get back to you later on.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital.
Sumit Kishore
analystJust one observation and question. Last 3 financial years, the share of originating volumes as a percentage of handling volumes has been coming off in both EXIM and domestic. So you mentioned a certain formula, which is relating to 2 of them. Could you please elaborate on how we should be thinking about this ratio over the next couple of years?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, as we have more hub-and-spoke because now the evacuation will be based on hub-and-spoke only. So if there is a hub-and-spoke movement, then transshipment will definitely increase. So handling volumes are bound to go up as compared to originating volumes. So there is no fixed formula. I was mentioning that approximately originating volume ranges from 65% to 70% of handling volume. There is an approximate number that it is a no-brainer. You can easily work on that. So I think more or less, it will remain same. If more hubs are present, then there may be a slight change in this number.
Sumit Kishore
analystOn the downside, so it can reduce further because last 3 years...
Sanjay Swarup
executiveIf more hubbing is there, definitely, it will be on the downside. But I can't predict right now at this moment.
Operator
operatorThe next question is from the line of Mohit Chugh From Subh Labh Research.
Mohit Chugh
analystMr. Swarup, I have my first question on this road to rail shift. I think Indian Railways has been trying this for the past decade to win market share over road. Now I just wanted to get your opinion on haulage charges. Earlier, we have witnessed that Indian Railways used to increase haulage charges whenever they feel like or they needed resources. How has been your communication recently with the Indian Railways on haulage charges? Can we see where the haulage charges can go down from Indian Railways and be passing it on to the customer and winning market share from road?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSee, in logistics, you must be aware -- you must be well aware that the transportation choice of a customer depends on 2 factors basically. First is the transit assurance and second is the cost. So you are primarily focusing on cost only. Transit assurance is also very important in logistics. Till now, Indian Railways has not been able to give transit assurance to customers because on the same track, we have passenger trains as well as the mail express trains as well as goods trains. So we can't -- in Indian Railways, we can't predict that when will the train reach the destination. But now with the dedicated freight corridor coming up in which the only freight trains will be running on that track and that too at a very high speed, Indian Railways is in a position to give transit assurance to its customers. When the dedicated freight corridor was -- Mundra Port was connected to dedicated freight corridor through a feeder routes. Then we approached Indian Railways to run assured transit train from our MMLP at Dadri to Mundra Port. So that product was launched. It was very well received by trade, and we tweaked slightly the tariff also. And there was a very good shift of cargo from road to rail, though that experiment was successful. Second was the product that was launched by Indian Railways from Delhi to Kolkata. In that also, they gave a assured transit of 120 hours with a stopover at Agra and Kanpur. Same train will -- it will start from Delhi, go to Agra. Some containers will be unloaded, some containers will be loaded. Then it will go to Kanpur -- some will be loaded, some will be unloaded. Then finally, it will go to Kolkata. So entire journey, including the time spent at Agra and Kanpur will be completed in 120 hours. That product is there from October 2025. I'm happy to announce that 120 -- the train is reaching within 120 hours. So this product is also very well received by trade, and we are getting very good response on this particular product. That is another good example of transit assurance without tweaking the cost. Now another product, Indian Railways, we are in talks with them. They are going to launch this transit assurance train from south to north, maybe from Bangalore to Delhi. So still they are working on it. So once they announce that, that will also -- I'm hoping it will give a very good response from trade. Lastly, from October onwards, we are going -- we are -- I have already spoken to senior officers from railways. From October when monsoon is over, we are going to launch assured transit train between JNPT and North India because now there are frequent disruptions and it's not the proper time to announce assured transit train. So from October, we are going to announce assured transit train between North India and JNPT. So that will also give another -- it will give boost to shift of cargo from road to rail. So these are the things. Basically, transit assurance also plays a very important role. Only cost is not the factor.
Mohit Chugh
analystUnderstood. Mr. Swarup, this was very helpful. Just a follow-up on this. So you are saying this assured transit is basically helping us gain more market share from road because now there's a certainty when the container will reach other destination. And this pursuit of assured transit trains will keep increasing from there, as you said, Bangalore, Delhi and then more routes will also be explored.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveCorrect. Exactly.
Mohit Chugh
analystGot it. Got it. Mr. Swarup, my second question is on our capacities at Northern ICD. So I understand we are quite optimistic about traffic moving from JNPT to northern part of the country. I was just wondering how is the capacity at our Northern ICDs? Are they -- will they be able to handle this increased flow of containers, which they will be receiving after JNPT getting connected? Or can you see some bottlenecks?
Sanjay Swarup
executiveNo, absolutely, there will be no bottleneck. We are having a huge multimodal logistics parks. They are in areas of more than 300 acres. And we have 4 MMLPs on Western DFC. Fifth one is coming up near Ahmedabad. So we are fully geared up to handle the increased traffic. Absolutely no worries on that. So -- and we are inducting high capacity rates also. So in which double stacking will be more. So we are fully -- our infrastructure is ready. We have absolutely no issue.
Mohit Chugh
analystUnderstood. Just one last question, Mr. Swarup. Do you have any rough ballpark number of containers moving on trucks from JNPT to Delhi-NCR hinterland? Just ballpark, if you have some -- either from NITI report -- NITI Aayog report or your internal assessments.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveSorry, I don't have that number with me right now.
Mohit Chugh
analystNo problem. Mr. Swarup, I think this is last -- your last month with CONCOR. It was very nice interacting with you all this while. And it was very -- I mean, good luck for your future endeavors, Mr. Swarup.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThank you very much. Thank you very much.
Operator
operatorLadies and gentlemen, due to time constraints, that was the last question for today. I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveJust I wanted to summarize that we have seen a Q1, which was quite good. And as I explained the various factors and increase in guidance, company is standing on very strong fundamentals. We have a strong team, very world-class infrastructure with us. So I am pretty sure that we will increase our market share, increase our business and more and more EBITDA margins also will increase. So in the future, it has got a very bright future and logistics industry is going to benefit a lot from the services of CONCOR. Thank you very much.
Operator
operatorThank you. On behalf of DAM Capital Advisors Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.
Sanjay Swarup
executiveThank you.
Read the full transcript via the API
You're viewing the first half of this call. Get the complete Container Corporation of India Limited transcript — plus 252,000+ transcripts from 12,000+ companies, speaker segments, AI summaries and full-text search — through the EarningsCalls.dev API.
Get the API View API docs →This call discussed
For developers and AI pipelines
Programmatic access to Container Corporation of India Limited earnings transcripts and 252,000+ others is available through the
EarningsCalls.dev REST API. Plans from $24.99/month — full transcripts, speaker segments,
full-text search, and the recently-added /api/v1/transcripts/recent polling endpoint for ETL pipelines.