ADVERTISEMENT

IRCTC Braces For A Hit As Ticket Sales Falls 25%

IRCTC expects business tourism to rebound within a month from when the situation improves.

A train sits on flooded rails at Tilak Nagar rail station in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
A train sits on flooded rails at Tilak Nagar rail station in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. is bracing for a hit to its operational profitability as ticket sales—its most profitable segment—has fallen by a quarter.

Ticket sales have now reduced to 5.5 lakh per day compared to 8.5 lakh earlier, Mahendra Pratap Mall, chairman and managing director of the state-run enterprise, told BloombergQuint in an interview. On average, ticket sales in March have fallen 25 percent, he said.

The ticketing segment contributes to nearly 85 percent of the company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

IRCTC expects business tourism to rebound within a month when the situation improves. Tourism, however, might take time to recover, he said.

Watch | IRCTC’s MD On How Coronavirus Will Impact The Company’s Profit Margin