IRCTC Q3 profit up 16% at ₹394 crore; EBITDA rises, margin hit

IRCTC on Thursday reported a 15.61% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated net profit at ₹394 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 (Q3 FY26). In the same quarter of the previous fiscal year, the PSU had reported a net profit of ₹341 crore.

Operational growth and margin compression

On the operational front, IRCTC’s consolidated revenue from operations surged 18.36% YoY to ₹1,449.47 crore, compared to ₹1,224.66 crore in Q3 FY25. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) saw a healthy jump of 11.73% YoY to ₹465 crore, up from ₹417 crore in the year-ago period.

However, the EBITDA margin contracted to 32.11% in the December quarter, down from 34.02% in Q3 FY25. This 191-basis-point drop is mainly due to higher operational costs associated with the rapid expansion of the catering and tourism segments, which have lower margins compared to the high-margin internet ticketing business.

Exceptional items

The bottom line for the quarter also included an exceptional income of ₹10.90 crore, which was a write-back of excess provisions from previous years that were no longer required. For the nine-month period ending December 2025, total exceptional income reached ₹16.70 crore, which also included adjustments related to lower charges for Tejas Express trains.

Segment-wise highlights

The company witnessed broad-based growth across all its core verticals:

• Catering: The largest revenue contributor, seeing a 19.22% rise to ₹661.43 crore.

• Internet ticketing: Continued its steady performance with a 13.26% increase to ₹400.63 crore.

• Tourism: Emerged as the fastest-growing segment, jumping 29.29% to ₹289.27 crore, driven by strong demand for domestic tour packages.

• Rail Neer: Reported modest growth of 6.63%, with revenue reaching ₹102.75 crore.

The board declared a second interim dividend of ₹3.50 per equity share (175% on a face value of ₹2) for FY26. The record date for dividend eligibility is fixed as February 20, 2026.

The company also highlighted a legal win where the Supreme Court ruled in its favour in a long-standing arbitration case involving catering licensees. This decision eliminates a contingent liability of approximately ₹74.71 crore.

The shares of IRCTC ended 1.01% lower at ₹622 apiece on the national stock exchange on Thursday. The PSU stock has seen a 18% dip over the past year, underperforming the benchmark Nifty 50 index that has risen nearly 11% during the same period.