IRCTC Rises Post Strong Q3 Numbers; Brokerages Set Targets At Up to 58% Upside

By Malvika Gurung

Investing.com — Shares of the e-ticket booking platform for Indian Railways, IRCTC (NS:) were trading 1.68% higher at Rs 852.1 apiece at 1:58 pm, after gaining 3.6% in early trade on Wednesday, following strong quarterly earnings numbers.

The state-run major’s consolidated net profit jumped a whopping 167.4% YoY at Rs 208.8 crore in the Dec-ending quarter, and its revenue from operations surged 141% YoY to Rs 540.2 crore in the period.

The company’s board has also declared an interim dividend of Rs 2/share for FY22, and the record date for payment of the same is set at Feb 18.

Share India Securities (BO:) has attributed the sharp rise in net profit to contribution from all segments and low base of last year. Additionally, the Budget’s recent announcement on adding more Vande Bharat trains is expected to benefit IRCTC’s share price in the long term.

The brokerage firm has suggested a target price of Rs 950/share in the near term, as per a Mint report.

Furthermore, Swastika Investmart (BO:) states that if the stock manages to exceed the 920 mark, it could rally towards the 980-1000 level. However, if it slips under the 780 mark, weakness can be expected.

Analyst at GCL Securities sees great results in all parameters of IRCTC and sets a target of Rs 1,350 for a 1-year time period, an upside of 58.4% compared to current price.

IRCTC enjoys monopoly as Indian Railways does not authorize any other entity to provide online ticketing services, catering or packaged drinking water to Railways’ passengers. 

Its largest segment, internet ticketing, grew the company’s revenues by 118% YoY to Rs 312 crore in Q3, while its second-largest segment in terms of business revenue, catering services surged 117% YoY to Rs 104 crore in the quarter under review.