Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd trades at ₹507, in a downtrend and 92 weeks into that stage. That is −14.6% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 2% of a 52-week range of ₹503 to ₹736. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (60 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 92 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹507 it trades −14.6% versus its 200-day average and sits at 2% of its 52-week range (₹503–₹736).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 6.7 years the stock moved +225% while the NIFTY 500 moved +147% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (60 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2025-06-13) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 1st percentile of its own range.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd trades at 28.7× P/E, about the cheapest it has ever traded. Its long-run median P/E is 45.2×, measured across 2.1 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 28.7× is about the cheapest it has ever traded, against a long-run median of 45.2× measured over 2.1 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +6.0% against a −33.7% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: Mixed Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd reads as mixed on its fundamental arc. Mixed — no clean majority across the growth curves, ROCE slipping at 44.0% — the per-curve reads carry the story. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

Why it matters: when the curves disagree, the per-curve reads above matter more than any single verdict.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

49.2/100 — rank 5 of 9 in Railways · 87% evidence confidence

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd scores 49.2 out of 100 against the 9 companies it is compared with in Railways, ranking 5. Strong business, demanding price: keep it on the quality list, but require either earnings upgrades or valuation compression.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 12.7 + 21.8 + 6.5 + 8.2 = 49.2. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd reported ₹1,460 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +15.1% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 3 years it has compounded at 13.8% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹5,215 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹5,215 Cr.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd reported ₹1,460 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +15.1% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 3 years it has compounded at 13.8% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹5,215 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹5,215 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹5,215 Cr (+11.6% on the year), capping 3 years at 13.8% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹1,460 Cr, +15.1% year on year — the 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +11.2% growth against the decade's 13.8% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +11.5% over the last 4 quarters against +10.6%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +5.9% vs +12.0%/yr — rolling over.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 27.0% this quarter (−3.0 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd's operating margin is 27.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −3.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 4 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 32.0% to 36.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd's operating margin is 27.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −3.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 4 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 32.0% to 36.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 27.0%, −3.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 4 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 32.0%–36.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −3.1 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.2 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −8.9% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd earned ₹326 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −8.9% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹1,393 Cr. The 3-year compound rate is 11.5%. That is 22.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹358 Cr.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd earned ₹326 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −8.9% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹1,393 Cr. The 3-year compound rate is 11.5%. That is 22.3% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹358 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹326 Cr, −8.9% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹1,393 Cr (+5.9%), and the 3-year compound rate is 11.5%.

🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed +15.1% and the margin −3.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +6.3% vs revenue +11.2%. Profit is growing slower than sales — costs are eating the growth before it reaches the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 78% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 78% of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — most of the profit is real cash. In FY26 that was ₹1,273 Cr of operating cash against ₹1,393 Cr of profit. After ₹91.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹1,182 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹1,273 Cr against reported profit of ₹1,393 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹1,182 Cr after ₹91.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 78% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 78%: the cash cycle stretched 1,591 days between FY23 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

Router verdict: conversion is below par and the cash cycle has stretched 1,591 days — the next section's job is to find where the cash is stuck.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: the 132-day cycle, in money terms.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 132 days in FY26, up from −1,459 days in FY23. Capital spending ran ₹656 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹5,215 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹14.3 Cr, so roughly ₹1,886 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 132 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 132 days, looser than FY23's −1,459.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹5,215 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹14.3 Cr — so the 132-day loop keeps roughly ₹1,886 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹656 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹160 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹42.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the working-capital loop is the cash sink the router flagged — watch the cycle, not the P&L.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 46% and the ROIC − WACC spread is +70.5 pp.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd earns a ROCE of 46% in FY26. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +70.5 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 26.7% net margin on 0.69× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 46%.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 26.7% net margin × 0.69× asset turns × 1.76× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 32.4% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 82.5% − 12.0% = a +70.5 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. A spread this wide means every rupee reinvested creates more than a rupee of value — the engine compounds.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.02.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd carries total debt of ₹81.0 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹4,309 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.02 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.06 in FY22 to 0.02 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹81.0 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹4,309 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.02. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.06 (FY22) to 0.02 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Foreign institutions cut 3.9 points over 8 quarters.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Foreign institutions cut 3.9 points of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes foreign institutions to 3.9% of the company. Domestic institutions moved +1.1 points over the same window, to 14.9%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: −3.9 points over 8 quarters to 3.9%; Domestic institutions: +1.1 points over 8 quarters to 14.9%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 62.4%.

🚨 Why the register moved: foreign institutions drove it (−3.9 points), absorbed on the other side by domestic institutions (+1.1 points) — distribution into the market’s bid.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd: the Z-score reads 12.97. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits well clear of distress. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.

Why it matters: a Z-score of 12.97 sits well clear of the distress zone — the balance sheet is not the risk here.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 12.97.

Frequently asked questions