Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited ($IRCTC)

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to IRCTC Limited Q4 and Full Year FY '26 Earnings conference call. [Operator Instructions] I now hand the conference over to Mr. Rahul Jain from Dolat Capital Markets Private Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.

Thank you, Rhea. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Dolat Capital, we welcome you all to Q4 FY '26 earnings conference call of IRCTC Limited. I take this opportunity to welcome the management of our IRCTC Limited, represented by Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jain, who is the CMD of the company; Mr. Sudhir Kumar, who is Director, Finance and CFO, and also we have today with us Shri. Rahul Himalian, Chief Director to Tourism & Marketing; and Mr. Manoj Sharma, Director, Catering Services of the company. Now I would like to hand the conference over to IRCTC management to take the proceedings forward. Over to you, please, please Sanjay.

Thank you, Rahul. A very good afternoon, everyone. It's my pleasure to welcome due to the earnings call of IRCTC for the quarter and year ending 31st March 2026. The financial results for Q4 were announced yesterday and filed with the stock exchanges. I will begin with a brief overview of our performance, thereafter, our Director Tourism and Marketing, Mr. Rahul Himalian will present a detailed financial and segment-wise analysis as our Director Finance is not available because of its personal casualty in his family. We will then open the floor for questions. Q4 FY '26 stood out to be extremely encouraging with the highest ever revenue and profitability in the company's history in absolute terms. This reflects the strength of our operating model, resilient business segment and sustained momentum across core business verticals. The company has registered all-time high financial performance in terms of revenue from operations, PAT and EBITDA in the financial year 2025-26. During the financial year, revenue from operations of IRCTC stood at INR 5,215 crores, registering an increase of around 12% as compared to previous financial year 2024-25, driven by strong performance across all segments, with improved operational efficiency and prudent cost management. EBITDA stood at INR 1,666 crores, registering an increase of approximately 7% from previous years. During the financial year, PAT stood at INR 1,393 crores, registering an increase of approximately 6% from previous year. The company has also declared and paid the highest dividend in the financial year, '25-'26 of INR 720 crores, out of this INR 680 crores has already been paid as interim dividend and INR 40 crores has been declared as a final dividend by the BoD subject to the approval of AGM -- in the AGM. Thank you. I now hand over the call to Mr. Rahul Himalian, our Director, Tourism and Marketing for a detailed discussion on the financial and segmental performance. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. Namaskara. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Rahul Himalian, Director Tourism & Marketing, IRCTC. On behalf of the entire management team of IRCTC and the entire fraternity, I extend a very warm welcome to all of you to this earnings call today, to present you with the overall financial and operational performance of IRCTC in the financial year 2025-26, along with the results of the fourth quarter of FY '25-'26. I am pleased to share that the company has delivered a very strong and resilient financial performance during the financial year, 2025-26, including quarter ending 31st March 2026, reflecting the robustness of a diversified business model, disciplined execution and continued focus on operational excellence and customer centricity. While discussing the financial results of financial year 2025-'26, you'll be glad to know that, IRCTC recorded its highest ever revenue from operations at INR 5,215 crores in the financial year '25-'26 compared to INR 4,675 crores in financial year '24-'25, registering a year-on-year growth of 11.55%, which is more than the year-on-year growth of 9.74% recorded in financial year 2024-25. Number two, IRCTC recorded highest ever total revenue of INR 5,475 crore in the financial year, 2025-26 compared to INR 4,904 crores in financial year 2024-25, registering a year-on-year growth of 11.64% which is more than the year-on-year growth of 10.8% recorded in financial year 2024-25. Number three, IRCTC also recorded highest ever profit before tax of INR 1,875 crores compared to INR 1,757 crore in financial year '24-'25, registering a year-on-year growth of 6.72%. The overall profit earned by the company has been driven with strong performances from all business verticals of IRCTC, including Catering, IT, Tourism and Rail Neer. Similarly, the EBITDA grew from INR 1,550 crores in financial year '2024-25 to INR 1,666 crores in financial year 2025-26, registering a growth of 7.48%. Now taking you deeper into the segment-wide performance for the financial year 2025-26, the Catering segment recorded a revenue of INR 2,399 crores in financial year 2025-26 as compared to INR 2,125 crores in financial year 2024-25, registering a year-on-year growth of 12.89%, so nearly 13%. The Rail Neer segment recorded a revenue of INR 391 crores versus INR 379 crores in financial year 2024-25, registering a year-in-year growth of 3.17% and a marked growth in profit year-on-year of 21.74%. The Internet ticketing segment recorded a revenue of INR 1,536 crores in financial year 2025-26 as compared to INR 1,426 crores in financial year, 2024-25 registering a year-on-year growth of 7.71% with a marked growth in profit of 7.55%. Tourism segment recorded a revenue of INR 890 crores in financial year 2025-26 crores as compared to INR 745 crores in financial year 2024-25, registering a year-on-year growth of 19.46%, with a whopping growth in profit of 36.1%. Now allow me to briefly highlight the segment-wise performance for Q4 of financial year 2025-26. The total revenue from operations stood at INR 1,460 crores in Q4 of financial 2025-26 as compared to revenue of INR 1,269 crores in Q4 of financial year 2024-25 registering a growth of 15.05%. There was a marginal dip in the comparative profit figures in Q4 with profit at INR 447 crores as compared to INR 472 crores in financial 2024-25, prima facie due to macro environmental factors and exceptional items amounting to INR 48 crores legacy items, which were considered as income in the financial year 2024-25. EBITDA for the quarter stood at INR 399 crores with a healthy EBITDA margin of 27.33%, while margins were impacted slightly due to a change in revenue mix, particularly higher contribution from Catering and Tourism segments. The company continued to maintain strong and sustainable profitability. Now talking about the business segments for Q4 of financial year 2025-26. The Tourism segment delivered an excellent performance in Q4 working an overall revenue of INR 304 crores compared to INR 274 crores in financial 2024-25, registering a growth of 10.95% year-on-year, despite the current geopolitical environment. The EBITDA margin improved to 16%, driven by a better product mix and focused cost rationalization initiatives. Internet ticketing, the Internet Ticketing reported revenue of INR 390 crores versus INR 373 crores, reflecting a year-in-year growth of 4.56%. You'll be glad to know that today, we command 89% share of reserved railway tickets, and the segment continued to deliver robust profitability with EBITDA margin of 76%, driven by strong operating leverage and sustained cost efficiencies. Catering. The Catering segment recorded revenue of INR 671 crores compared to INR 529 crores in '24-'25, achieving an impressive growth of 26.84% year-on-year. The margin in this segment were impacted due to higher sales contribution from train catering operations and pilot initiatives such as branded catering projects undertaken with a view to enhancing customer experience and passenger satisfaction. Nevertheless, Catering continues to remain a steady and scalable growth driver supported by increasing passenger volumes and continuous efforts towards service enhancement. Lastly, Rail Neer. Rail Neer generated a revenue of INR 95 crores compared to INR 92 crores, registering a year-on-year growth of 3.26%. The segment witnessed an improvement in margins during the quarter supported by economies and material costs, operational efficiencies and sustained consumer confidence in the brand. Overall, our fourth quarter performance demonstrates the resilience and strength of IRCTC's business fundamentals despite the ongoing geopolitical turmoil, prudent cost management with rational austerity measures, strong digital capabilities and unwavering commitment to operational excellence. We remain confident about our future business growth trajectory and believe the company is well positioned to create sustainable long-term value for all its stakeholders. With these remarks, I conclude by today's address to the IRCTC family. We will now open the floor for questions, please. Thank you.

[Operator Instructions] First question is from the line of Jinesh Joshi from PL Capital.

Sir, if I look at our Internet Ticketing EBIT margin, it was at about 76% in this quarter, while the Catering EBIT margin was also down to about 6.2%. I understand in the opening remarks, you did mention something about the Catering division and there was some one-off with respect to some branded projects that you highlighted. But if you can be a bit more specific and quantify what were the one-off elements in these two segments which have led to erosion in margins?

We could not hear you because of noise from background.

Sorry.

Sir, could you please repeat your question?

My question is on the Internet Ticketing EBIT margin, which was down to 76% and also the -- and also the Catering EBIT margin, which was down to 6.2%. Just wanted to know, were there any one-offs in that segment?

What this noise from behind? [Foreign Language].

[Foreign Language].

Sir, can we request you to rejoin the queue?

[Foreign Language] He is still talking.

Jinesh, there's a lot of background is from your line. Can you please rejoin the question queue. As there is no response, we'll move ahead. The next question is from the line of Tanishk Ganesh Gupta from SS Family Office.

Sir, my question would be particularly on the August Kranti Rajdhani train. Despite being a premium Mumbai-Delhi train which currently stops at Mathura but not at Agra, which is a major tourist and business destination, and from a personal observation, I have observed that many passengers deboard at Mathura and then travel onward to Agra by road, creating additional incomes and transit inefficiency. So additionally, another train Mumbai Delhi Tejas Rajdhani currently does not stop at Mathura or at Agra. So have you evaluated any possibility of introducing an Agra stoppage for such premium train due to the high tourism destination like Agra to enhance passenger convenience or premium passenger demand on this corridor?

Hello, you are able to -- am I audible?

Yes, sir, yes, sir. .

[Foreign Language] there is another train, Rajdhani train from Mumbai, which goes up to CSTM and comes up to Nizamuddin. So passengers aspiring to go to Agra, they can take that route. Secondly, this is concerning Indian Railways, we will certainly -- if you send some requests to them, they will consider introducing another train also. Thank you.

Sir, what I mean to say is that [Foreign Language].

[Foreign Language] IRCTC cannot go to Guwahati via Srinagar. It has to go from Delhi to Guwahati via Kanpur or via Muradabad, so the route is not there. You got my point?

Got it. And sir, the second question would be on the convenience fees across AC and non-AC ticket categories have largely remained unchanged for several years despite rising digital volumes and inflation and the continued investment in the platform infrastructure. So how do you evaluate the scope for revisiting convenience fee structure over the long term while balancing affordability and monetization?

At the moment, we are not planning to announce anything, but of course, when it will pinch us, we'll think about it. Thank you.

And sir, given the strong cash balance that currently IRCTC has an ability to generate highly efficient cash flows, what would be the key capital allocation priority over the next few years?

You see, we are an asset-light company, but we are basically investing -- trying to invest into our platform. So first, we are like improving our infrastructure of e-ticketing, so to give a convenience to our passengers. Secondly, to make it more secure, we are putting money to that. And besides that, we are like planning to have four additional Rail Neer plants, expansion of existing 2 Rail Neer, and we are also trying to go in hotel business.

And sir, on this question as a follow-up, dividend payout ratio remains relatively strong at approximately 50%. So any other methods you are currently evaluating to reward shareholders as in terms of buyback?

Yes. This decision is done by DPAM, Ministry of Finance, though we qualify for their criteria, but there is a -- like a number of years barriers there. So that rule there, we have already -- our Board has already apprised the DPAM in this regard. Thank you.

And sir, last question would be on that IRCTC operated at 36% approximately 4 years ago, 36% EBITDA margins while Q4 FY '26 margins are currently at 27%. So can you elaborate the key drivers behind this compression and whether those earlier 36% margin were structurally sustainable or largely a peak driven by a favorable e-ticketing business mix and operating leverage?

You see we are aspiring to improve our revenue by mix of -- by change our -- by mix -- by increasing our different business segments. So in the process, a high-margin business or revenue, as you already know that we are working on 89% of railway ticket booking. So there, we are finding it not very, very encouraging look forward. So we have planned to improve the other segment of our business like Catering, Tourism, Rail Neer. There, our margin is around 12, 10 to -- anywhere 10% to 12%. So we have planned to see the -- improve in absolute term margin, but we -- as we regularly -- we are regularly telling that in this calls, and earlier also that we will maintain 30%. Now if you go with this financial year, the margin comes to around 31.5%. And why there is a dip of up to 27% because in this quarter, because we have booked some exceptional items. If we deduct those exceptional items in this quarter, it will be around 30% only. Thank you.

And sir, in the long run, is it safe to say that you aim to target mid-30s kind of margin?

Yes. 30 -- we are aspiring to maintain 30%.

Next question is from the line of Mr. Jinesh Joshi from PL Capital.

Am I audible now?

Yes, please.

Yes.

Yes. Sir, what was the exceptional item that you booked in this quarter? And if you can quantify that amount? And secondly, also, can you share, did we get any revenue from running election special teams in 4Q? So that is my first question.

You see, there are 3 major items, which I can quantify is, first, the legacy item, which was booked in March '25, was around INR 48 crores, which is not there this year. And then allocation of CSR activities, which was last year, INR 7 crores only. So it is INR 31 crores this year. And we have provided for additional ECL of around INR 16 crores as against INR 8 crores. So something is there. Secondly, election, we have a revenue of INR 2.8 crores.

Sir, just to repeat the numbers because there was some issue in your voice. You highlighted that election special revenue was INR 2.38 crores and the ECL provisioning was INR 16 crores. But what was the CSR number that you highlighted for this quarter?

Legacy item was INR 48 crores, which was there in March '25. This year, it is not there. CSR as against INR 7 crores booked last year, we have -- this time, the whole of CSR, INR 31 crores has been booked, that is additional INR 24 crores in this quarter and ECL. Last year, we booked INR 8 crores. This year, we have booked -- provided INR 16 crores. So largely, these are the exceptional items. And so far as election special in this quarter, we have booked INR 2.38 crores. And for the financial year -- in the financial it is INR 6.7 crores. If you want I will send across you the exact figures also.

No, sir. This is pretty clear. Sir, my second question is on the Catering division. I believe the last price hike happened in 2019. And now given the surge in gas prices, is there a possibility of a revision in Catering prices? And basically, how are the licensees coping with the inflation given their input cost has also risen? So your comments on that? And just in case hypothetically, if the price hike happens, will we benefit from the old contracts that have been awarded to the licensees? I thought of asking this because they were given at a fixed fee, so if you can just clarify on this bit.

You see your hypothecation, I cannot answer until the price is raised because it's an administered item and is decided by Ministry of Railways. I can't comment on to that. Thank you very much.

Last bookkeeping question. If you can share the number of ticket booked, the convenience fee and the EC share in this quarter?

Number of tickets booked in AC class is 6.85 crores and non-Class 6.54 crores. Total 13.39 crores.

Share of UPI.

51.7%.

And the convenience fee income also, sir?

Convenience fee income was INR 247 crores.

Sure. And sir, just 1 suggestion. If you can maybe put out the presentation and give out all these KPI numbers that will be really handy. That is 1 suggestion from my side. Thank you so much.

Next question is from the line of Madhuchanda Dey from MC Pro.

My question is related to the previous question. And like you called out some exceptional items. But I just wanted to check that there's a sharp decline in the EBIT margin for Catering from 10.4% to 6.3%. Was anything specific in this margin decline? And similarly, for Internet Ticketing, it's 85% to 76%, that kind of a decline. Was there anything business specific?

Yes. In the Catering, the margin dipped because of this exceptional item. First of all, last year, same quarter, we have provided for ECL item of only INR 5 crores. This year, it is INR 16 crores. CSR allocation under catering was done as against INR 1 crores, it's INR 5 crores. And legacy items this year, this year it is not there, last year, INR 33 crores. And direct cost because of GST, because increase in the premium train cell is around INR 3 crores. This is regarding catering.

No, sorry, sir, I didn't understand the last item that you called out. GST increase in premium train, this year it is INR 3 crore, last year, there was nothing. That's what you said, right?

No. Over to last year, additional INR 3 crores because of increase of the SIM. Then as regards to the IT business, the margin -- the reason for the down is allocation of CSR of additional INR 17 crores on this, direct cost around INR 8 crores and increase in the UPI share, it is again INR 8 crores.

Okay. so in the fourth quarter, there was a shortage of commercial cylinder. So did that impact margin by any chance in your business?

Actually, we have done many things to get rid of this problem. First of all, we have allowed our vendors to cook on the pantry car which are already having a safety facilities. So all our LHD pantry car is now -- can produce meals in a running train, so we have allowed our vendors or licenses to cook their meals and serve onto the train. So that is run by -- on electricity. Secondly, at very big places, we have used this electric as a mode of induction cooking. Thirdly, we have tied up with all the -- this marketing company, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL to give us the priority as per the government directives.

Great. Great. So sir, just a last question from my side. Because of the increase in airfares, especially on international routes, like we are hearing that there's a lot of diversion of tourism to domestic tourism in this peak summer holiday season in India. Are you seeing any change in the in the number of tickets booked or holidays booked or overall increase in passenger traffic?

In our tourism, our -- this quarter, our tubs revenue grew from INR 274 crores to INR 304 crores. Despite all these issues, this has increased. Similarly, IT business has also increased from INR 372 crores to INR 390 crores. So certainly, that has added to our revenue. We have given -- we got the opportunity, and we have utilized it.

Sir, my question was pertaining to this quarter, which means we are already 1.5 months into the -- into this new quarter, so my question was, are you seeing any increased activity in domestic tourism in this quarter, which is like the April, June quarter, because we are already 1.5 months into it?

You asked -- you want me to comment on a thing which I should not because it's a listed company, but yes, we are very hopeful.

Next question is from the line of Sonal from PC Capital.

I hope I am audible? Am I audible or should I speak again?

Yes, please, please, go ahead.

Sir, you can go ahead with your questions.

Am I audible now?

Yes, sure.

Yes. So sorry, sorry for this, sir. My other question with regard to the percentage of tickets that are booked on IRCTC with your channel partners and online travel agents, Indigo, MakeMyTrip and other, what would be that share for this particular financial year, if you could give a certain understanding?

I will send you the details. Let's say channel partner, I think, 28% around.

All right, sir. And sir, has that number increased over the last 1 year directionally without taking absolute numbers?

Appears to be same, but we'll send you the numbers.

Okay. And sir, I have a follow-up question on this 1 that from a tech perspective, how do you see your channel partners directionally from here to the next 2, 3 years? Do you think IRCTC can do much better on their portal to actually bypass these channel partners or these are channel partners who can actually add value to your business, your platform? Just wanted to understand from a build-out perspective IRCTC going forward.

And why do you want me to lose money? You are my investor, you should be happy if I work with them more. Thank you.

Next question is from the line of Abhishek from Investec.

My question is on the other expenses. So other expenses in the quarter comes at around roughly INR 40 crores to INR 50 crores. But in this quarter, it is around INR 109 crores. So what are the reasons behind that?

Yes. As I explained in my initial talk that we have booked the CSR around INR 31 crores, INR 32 crores and ECL at INR 16 crores and that's why it has increased. Thank you.

Next question is from the line of Pranav Mashruwala from Dolat Capital.

So 1 question on tourism. So the top line has been healthy, but there have been some mild contraction in the margin. So what has been the current growth driver for Q4? So was there some lower margin Bharat Gaurav or lower tourism packages versus lower premium luxury tourism? And how can we think about some of the sustainability of margins in this business?

So a decrease in margin is basically because of allocation of CSR of INR 1.5 crores and a decrease in the margin of Tejas Express, two Tejas Express we are running. So otherwise, this margin would be around 18%.

Next 1 question would be on Rail Neer. So there we have seen good margin expansion. So what has been driving this margin expansion? Any operational efficiencies, which are more sustainable or improved capacity utilization?

Yes. We -- this last quarter, the pre-form rates were quite good. So that's how the margin percentage increased.

Okay. So just maybe a broad level question. So we've seen good growth in Catering and Tourism overall. But the ticket growth -- ticketing growth has been a bit moderating considering even the digital penetration is high, and the adoption is quite good. How do we see the revenue mix evolving over the next few years? And which business will be the primary growth driver for us?

See, revenue-wise primary growth I see in Catering, it will continue to maintain around 15%. And Tourism, we are eying to continue with around -- this year, we are booking 19% should continue to be around 20%. And IT business is 7%. We want to increase the non-convenience fee. And for that, we are already working on unified portal and IP. So that will be around 10%. We want to maintain that. Thank you.

Next question is from the line of Kartik Gada from Multiple Wealth.

Am I audible?

Yes, please.

Yes. So on this CSR, which you mentioned against INR 7 crores, we booked INR 31 crores. Understand. So is there what led to increase? Because in terms of full year revenue growth, we are at 11.5%, but the CSR increase is almost like 4x kind of -- a little more than 4x. So what is the rationale for such a sharp increase in CSR?

You see CSR, as you must be knowing, that it depends on the profitability of last 3 years. and 2% of that. This year, why we could -- why we booked this expenditure in the last quarter because most of our projects for was sanctioned in this month -- in this quarter. Thank you.

Okay. So would there be such volatility going ahead also? Or we should see it stabilizing around these levels?

This is an exceptional item. You see every month, if I book for say, INR 2 crore or INR 3 crores kind of thing, then in 12 months, we can book around INR 36 crores, INR 32 crores, which is there, the CSR liability on to us. But generally, it depends on the -- because the -- identify the [indiscernible], we examine its feasibility and viability and whether it is good or not, so it takes time. So I don't think it is making any -- it is just an exceptional item, we can say that.

And just to understand the accounting terms, so there is some element of both CSR and ECL in the EBIT line item also, and hence, we are seeing lower EBIT margins for Catering and Internet Ticketing. Would that be the right understanding?

Exactly.

Okay. Last question from my end. Just to reconfirm the number of tickets, which you mentioned, the total was INR 13.39 crores?

Yes, yes.

Next question is from the line of Harsh Yadav from Dolat Capital Markets Private Limited.

Am I audible?

Yes, please go on.

So news that enhancement of license fee of prepaid and postpaid trains for the -- for this quarter is a matter of sub-judice. Could you quantify the potential incremental revenue that has not been recognized? And what will be the timeline for reservation with respect to High Court?

You are talking of the previous court case, which is going on for CC 16?

Yes.

So that is under litigation. So I should not comment in on now, but under litigation.

Okay. So the...

Sir, your voice is very low.

Am I audible now?

Yes, this is better.

So the RBI deadline for submitting final application for the payment aggregator license has been extended to August '26, and you mentioned onboarding a tech service provider in Q3. Could you share the current milestone status of this application? And also once the license is secured quickly, do we plan to launch the unified portal and what is the expected monetization road map for cross-selling travel services?

August is the deadline, and I'm happy to tell that we will be able to do it by that time. And we have already engaged our partner. Thank you.

One more question on Rail Neer. So as you mentioned last quarter that you are doubling capacity from Danapur and Ambernath and also working on some greenfield plants. What will be the execution status of these plants. And so you indicated in Q3 that you are exploring other beverage brands to be at 50% demand supply gap. Has there been any progress on those discussions?

Yes. We have already tendered our expansion plan for Ambernath from 2 lakh bottles per day to 3 lakh bottles. And similarly, for Danapur Rail Neer plant from 1 lakh to 2 lakh bottle. So we have already tied up with the partner. The work is going on. As regards the 4 plants, we have already got land at Mysore and Prayagraj. Bhagalpur, 1 land which was given was not that good. So we have again represented to give a good land, where we extract good water and no problem of future water scarcity. And in Rachi, Barbali, they have already told that it is allotted to you, but we have not got any formal communication from them. As regards to engaging with other partners, channel partners, so discussion is going on. Our experience till date is not very encouraging, but we are trying to find out a good partner for that.

Okay. Just 1 final question on Catering. So you have highlighted that the Vande Bharat model of rates on higher billing but lower margins with the Ministry of Railways planning to scale Vande Bharat Trains, how should we model the long-term sustainable margin for Catering business? Are there pricing adjustment or licensing fee revision in discussion in the Railway Board?

See, I never told that we don't get a good margin in Vande Bharat trains. In fact, we are getting 2 things. One is our license fee, which is quite good. The other thing is our booking of revenue because how it works. First, we -- our licensees, they give us the licensee for taking the right onto the train and then they serve the meals to them and they raise the bill to us. In turn, we take the money from Railways, which in turn takes the money from the passengers in the tariff, in the passenger fare, and that's how we are booking 2 things. One is license fee and other is turnover. So when we book the turnover, we have to raise the bill and for that 5% is the bill which raises which we don't get an ITC credit. So this -- whenever the increase in the revenue train revenue will be there, there will be an element of 5% of GST. So that means I have to increase the revenue. So I have to bear this 5%. That's what I want to tell you. Thank you.

That was the last question of the day. I now hand the conference over to management for closing comments.

Thank you, namaskar. [Foreign Language] Thank you.

Thank you. On the behalf of IRCTC Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.