TCI Express hits all-time high, surges 26% in 10 days

Shares of TCI Express hit a new high of Rs 925, up 6 per cent on the BSE on Monday in an otherwise subdued market after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday proposed to set up Kisan Rail in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for cold supply chain to transport perishable goods.

TCI Express is a prominent player in the express logistics industry providing Door-to-Door express distribution services.

In the past 10 trading days, the stock outperformed the market by surging 26 per cent from Rs 733 level on January 23, 2020. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 4 per cent during the same period.

Presenting her second Union Budget, Sitharaman announced a slew of measures for the benefit of farmers. "To build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, the Indian Railways will set up Kisan Rail through PPP model so that perishable goods can be transported quickly," she said.

Meanwhile, in October-December quarter (Q3FY20), TCI Express delivered earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 35 crore, a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 11.2 per cent and margins expanded by 107 bps to 13.1 per cent during the same period. Net profit grew 36 per cent at Rs 26 crore, while operational revenue up marginally by 2 per cent at Rs 268 crore on YoY basis.

The management said the revenue growth was driven primarily by increase in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) customers. The margin improvement is a result of operational efficiency initiatives and better working capital management.