BENGALURU (Reuters) – Container Corporation of India (Concor) reported a jump in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, supported by growth in volumes of cargo handled that eclipsed higher freight prices being passed to consumers.
The state-owned company reported a consolidated net profit of 3.31 billion rupees ($39.8 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 12% from last year.
Revenue from operations rose more than 10% to 22.11 billion rupees, signalling higher demand for cargo transporters during a period that coincided with festivities and related purchasing in the country.
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KEY CONTEXT
Container Corp’s total volumes handled rose about 6.1% year-on-year, despite passing higher freight charges on to customers, with volumes in its mainstay export-import (EXIM) segment up 8.3%. EXIM segment contributes two-thirds of the cargo operator’s revenue.
Dedicated freight corridors, which analysts expect to aid rail connectivity, is boosting the company’s volumes and helping it regain market share, which were stressed due to heated competition from private cargo firms.
Concor’s market share stood at 65%-70%, JM Financial analysts noted in November, after healthy demand lifted the company’s Q2 profit.
Its earnings were also boosted by India’s festival season, which shifted into the third-quarter, analysts said.
PEER COMPARISON
Valuation Estimates (next 12 Analysts’ sentiment
(next 12 months)
months)
RIC PE EV/EBI Revenue profit Mean # of Stock to Div
TDA growth growth rating analyst price target yield
s (%)
Container 32.97 20.41 15.05 17.84 HOLD 12 1.06 1.33
Corporation of
India
Mahindra Logistics 45.62 8.68 14.81 1636.97 HOLD 10 1.09 0.60
Aegis Logistics 24.87 14.82 8.79 12.53 BUY 5 1.14 1.76
Allcargo Logistics 22.36 10.09 4.16 60.24 BUY 3 0.86 1.05
* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** The ratio of the stock’s last close to analysts’ mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading above the PT
OCTOBER-DECEMBER STOCK PERFORMANCE
— All data from LSEG
— $1 = 83.0870 Indian rupees
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)