IRCTC jumps 12.5% on strong Q3 nos; Co announces interim dividend of Rs 10

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the recently-listed online ticketing, tourism and the catering arm of railways, jumped over 12 per cent on Thursday, a day after the company posted strong set of numbers for the quarter ended December 31, 2019. 

At 09:28 am, the stock was quoting around 10 per cent higher at Rs 1,559 apiece on the BSE. It hit a high of Rs 1,596.95 in the early trade against previous close of Rs 1,418.95. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 0.14 per cent lower at 41,508 levels.

For the quarter under review, IRCTC posted a whopping 178 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in its net profit at Rs 206 crore against Rs 74 crore profit in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. 

Total revenue during the period stood at Rs 735 crore, up 62 per cent against Rs 454 crore in the year-ago period. 

Basic earnings per share (EPS) of the company was at Rs 12.86 against Rs 4.6 in the December quarter of the previous fiscal. 

The company also declared interim dividend of Rs 10. Record date for the same has been set as 25 February, 2020.

IRCTC shares were listed on October 14, 2019. The stock made a stellar debut on the bourses by listing at Rs 644, a 101 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 320 per share on the BSE. Since retail investors received shares at a discount of Rs 10 per share, for them the issue price stood at Rs 310 per share. The stock on that day had settled at Rs 728.6 apiece on the BSE. 

Since October 14, the stock has jumped 95 per cent (as of Wednesday's close) against around 9 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.