IRCTC Banks On Spiritual Tourism Revival, Plans Catering Expansion And New Website In FY27
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IRCTC CMD Rahul Himalian outlines plans for FY27 growth, betting on spiritual tourism, catering plant expansion, and a redesigned captcha-free website, as Q1 profit stayed nearly flat amid global pressures.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is pinning its FY27 growth hopes on a pickup in spiritual tourism, with CMD Rahul Himalian pointing to early signs of momentum in the segment. Speaking to NDTV Profit, Himalian said the renewed interest in pilgrimage travel is expected to give the company's tourism vertical a meaningful lift through the year. He added that IRCTC is also working to widen its non-fare revenue base as part of a broader push to reduce dependence on any single business line.
On the technology side, the company is preparing to roll out a redesigned website built around a smoother user experience. According to Himalian, the platform will do away with captcha verification altogether, a change aimed at making ticket booking and other services faster for users. A beta version of the new site is already live, and the full rollout is slated for the second quarter of FY27. The revamp is part of the company's broader effort to modernise its digital offerings as competition in the online travel and ticketing space continues to grow.
Catering remains central to IRCTC's expansion plans. Himalian said the company has already scaled up two of its catering plants and has four more in the pipeline, a move expected to add meaningfully to capacity over the course of the year. The segment was the biggest contributor to revenue growth in the June quarter, and the company is targeting a 10-12% improvement in catering margins over FY27. Himalian said IRCTC is working toward keeping its overall EBITDA margin above 30% for the year, even as sources say the West Asia crisis and other global disruptions weighed on profitability in the first quarter.
IRCTC Q1 FY 2026-27 At A Glance
IRCTC's June quarter numbers reflected that pressure. Net profit for Q1FY27 came in at Rs 330 crore, almost flat against Rs 331 crore in the same quarter last year, a marginal decline of 0.3%. Revenue rose 18.1% year-on-year to Rs 1,370 crore from Rs 1,160 crore, driven largely by the catering business. EBITDA, however, slipped 2.7% to Rs 387 crore. The EBITDA margin contracted sharply to 28.2%, down from 34.3% in the year-ago period, underscoring the extent to which external headwinds ate into the company's core profitability despite healthy topline growth.
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Rochelle Britto is a business journalist with 8+ years of experience in financial journalism. She covers equity markets, corporate earnings, IPOs, commodities and the economy.
As a reporter with leading business publications, she has tracked financial markets and covered sectors including banking and financial services, retail, consumer goods, advertising and e-commerce.
Outside work, she enjoys travelling, discovering local cultures and spending time in nature.
