Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Travel Services · NSE

₹468.05−₹1.30 (−0.28%)

DalalBaazaar Score

68 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Moderate

Driven by high debt relative to equity.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with modest growth. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:07 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited engages in the provision of catering and hospitality, Internet ticketing, travel and tourism, and packaged drinking water services in India.

IndustryTravel Services

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees1,318

Annual revenue₹5,214 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹5,214 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹27 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹37 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,318 employees supports ₹3.96 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin37.2%

Net margin26.7%

Revenue / employee₹3.96 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD., TITAN COMPANY LIMITED, TRENT LTD, AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.P/E 25.2x · ROE 13.4%

TITAN COMPANY LIMITEDP/E 68.5x · ROE 36.7%

TRENT LTDP/E 87.2x · ROE 25.9%

AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITEDP/E 69.9x · ROE 12.7%

What is its competitive advantage?The numbers suggest a real one

ROCE has stayed above 15% in every year available and stands at 41.1%. Returns that high normally get competed away; when they persist, something is protecting them, and its ROE of 32.3% against a peer median of 25.9% is consistent with that. What that something is — brand, scale, switching costs, regulation — the accounts cannot tell you.

ROCE41.1%

ROE32.3%

Peer median ROE25.9%

What is the outlook?

7 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 12.0% and earnings to grow about 13.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+12.0%

Est. earnings growth+13.7%

Analysts7

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +47% while net margin moved -6% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+47%

Margin effect-6%

DalalBaazaar Score

68/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• P/E of 26.9x already prices in growth
✓ P/E is 50% below its own historical median of 53.5x — cheap by its own standards
✗ P/B of 8.69x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

71/ 100

Good

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

64/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

26.9x

3Y Median

53.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 51.6x · range 26.1x–82.6x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 50% below its 3y median of 53.5x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟢Against its sector it trades 61% below the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

53.5x median over 40 months · -50%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

69.2x median of 4 peers · -61%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

26.9x

P/B

8.69x

EV/EBITDA

19.2x

PEG

2.34

Dividend Yield

1.92%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 61% over 3 years.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 41.1% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Valuation below its historical average
At 26.9x the stock trades 50% below its own median of 53.5x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention3

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 40.2% to 37.2% over 3 years.
Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 40.6% to 32.3% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 50.8% to 41.1% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.87x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Margins are compressingFinancial
EBITDA margin is down 3.1 points over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 41.1% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 50% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 61% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 40.2% to 37.2%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 1.87x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 40.6% to 32.3%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 10% a year✓ 13.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 18.1%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 35%✓ 37.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1,195 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 38%✓ 41.1%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

9 / 12 checks passed

✓ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

5 good · 4 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹37,444 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

26.9x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

8.69x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹17.42

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

32.3%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

41.1%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

1.87x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

18.1%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

0.0%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

1.92%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹1,195 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹468.05

P/E (Forward)

20.9x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

27.3%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

25.7%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.15

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.29

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

461.5 / 476.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

57.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹3,541 Cr	₹4,260 Cr	₹4,674 Cr	₹5,214 Cr	+13.8%
EBITDA	₹1,424 Cr	₹1,638 Cr	₹1,786 Cr	₹1,937 Cr	+10.8%
EBITDA Margin	40.2%	38.5%	38.2%	37.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,006 Cr	₹1,111 Cr	₹1,315 Cr	₹1,393 Cr	+11.5%
EPS	₹12.57	₹13.89	₹16.44	₹17.42	+11.5%
ROE	40.6%	34.4%	35.9%	32.3%	—
ROCE	50.8%	43.8%	44.4%	41.1%	—
Total Debt	₹84 Cr	₹60 Cr	₹90 Cr	₹81 Cr	-1.4%
Free Cash Flow	₹744 Cr	₹650 Cr	₹786 Cr	₹1,195 Cr	+17.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 13.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 10.8% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 40.2% to 37.2% over 3 years (-3.1 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 11.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 11.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 40.6% to 32.3% over 3 years (-8.2 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 50.8% to 41.1% over 3 years (-9.6 pts).

🟡 Total Debt has been broadly flat over 3 years (-1.4% a year).

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 17.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹7,580 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹3,271 Cr

Total Debt

₹81 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹412 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,273 Cr

Capex

-₹78 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

16.9%

Insider Holding

62.4%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

12 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹9

Ex-Dividend Date

22 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

7 Buy · 1 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹641.33

+37.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹468 – ₹850

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD.	25.2x	13.4%
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED	68.5x	36.7%
TRENT LTD	87.2x	25.9%
AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED	69.9x	12.7%

Recent News

2 positive3 mixed1 general

IRCTC Share Price Falls 2.05%: Price Action and Valuation

Univest, 15 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

IRCTC’s Q3 net profit rises 15.5 pc to Rs 395 crore

DD News, 14 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

IRCTC Partners With QCI for Food Safety Audits; Shares Fall 0.19%

HDFC Sky, 16 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Earnings Miss: Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited Missed EPS By 10% And Analysts Are Revising Their Forecasts

Simply Wall Street, 31 MayAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

IRCTC Is Back At 2020 Levels: Sales Up 46%, But Margins Have Been Squeezed

NDTV Profit, 14 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited (NSE: IRCTC) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Kalkine, 09 Oct

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.2/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13.9/20

🟢GrowthStrong13.4/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong11/15

🟡ValuationFair7.9/15

🟡RiskModerate6.3/10

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 10% a year13.8% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 35%37.2%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹1,195 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.0x
✓ROCE stays above 38%41.1%