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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited hosted by Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. [Operator Instructions] Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Jinesh Joshi from Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. Thank you and over to you, sir.
Thanks, Rituja. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of Prabhudas Lilladher, I welcome you all to the 1Q FY '22 earnings call of IRCTC Limited. We have with us the management represented by Mr. Rajni Hasija, CMD; and Mr. Ajit Kumar, CFO. I would now like to hand over the call to the management for opening remarks. And later, we can open the floor for Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, Rajni, ma'am.
A very good afternoon to everyone. At the outset, let me welcome you all to this con call of IRCTC Limited for the quarter ended on 30th June 2021. I hope that you and your dear ones are fine and safe in this challenging time. It is good to see that the infections in the country are coming down from the peak that we had seen in the last year and also in the second wave. Same is the case with the vaccination rate, which is also gradually picking up.So as the things are improving, there is an eagerness to travel and enjoy. The hospitality facilities is also increasing, which is a good sign for any hospitality company. Although the risk of the third wave is also not very far and not completely behind, too, hopefully, it doesn't come, but we have to be in the readiness for that.Yesterday, company had announced the financial results for the quarter ended in June 2021. And the same has been disclosed on both the stock exchanges, too. The Board of Directors have also recommended subdivision of the company's 1 equity share of face value of INR 10 into 5 equity shares of the face value INR 2, each subject to approval of Ministry of Railways, shareholders and all other necessary approvals that may be required.While the second wave that we know that has impacted the travel and the hospitality industry badly, especially the 2 months, April and May, and IRCTC was not [ different of 2 ]. However, IRCTC has been able to demonstrate our resilience with the revenue and profitability once again. And our revenue and the profitability in the current Q1 is not only higher than the previous year Q1, it is -- our revenue is also higher and our profit EBITDA is also higher and our profit after tax is also higher as compared to the Q3 of the last year also.This was only for our reference. And our business performance should be compared on a year-to-year basis. However, our endeavors to improve the performance will always be known. Q1 fiscal year of '22 saw [ some such ] in the COVID-19 infection in the initial months. The same has been brought under control with the consistent efforts taken by all the states and government of India. And of course, citizens also contributed to that.We have also seen significant improvement in the vaccination. The number of cases are coming down and few of the states are pretty good. However, the third wave of infection and the impact of the same remains still uncertain. As IRCTC, we will try to fight out this tough situation once again as we are in the past 5 quarters. And I'm pretty confident that we would come out even stronger than before.I shall now hand over this con call to our -- my esteemed colleague, our Director, Finance and CFO of the company, Sri Ajit Kumar, who shall brief you about the financial performance of this quarter, after which, the house will be open and the floor will be open for question and answers. Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, everybody. I shall first give a brief overview about Q1 FY '22 results, post which, we shall have the question-and-answer session.Q1 FY '22 revenue saw a sharp improvement year-on-year at INR 243 crores versus INR 131 crore in the same quarter last year. EBITDA margin continued to make a new high and increased to 45.8% versus 42.8% quarter-on-quarter and compared to a loss in Q1 FY '21. Quarter-on-quarter improvement has been driven by a decline in losses in the Catering segment and turnaround of the packaged drinking water segment.Let me now move to the business segments of the company, different business segments are like this, the Internet Ticketing segment. This continues to be the most resilient business segment in these challenging times. The Q1 FY '22 revenue in Internet Ticketing came at INR 150 crores, substantially higher year-on-year due to the impact of the pandemic in the base quarter. And there have been decline quarter-on-quarter with ticketing volume impacted by the second wave, which impacted the EBITDA margin, which still came at 77.9%.Next to the Catering segment, discussed in our previous earnings call, severely hit by the pandemic. While the revenue saw moderation quarter-on-quarter, there was a good reduction in the EBITDA loss to INR 4.7 crores versus INR 7.2 crores in Q4 FY '21. Next to the Tourism segment. Of course, as is worldwide, I mean this having the most severe hit of the pandemic for us as well as for the industry. The Q1 FY '22 revenue saw a sharp decline versus Q4 FY '21. The segmental EBITDA loss saw a decline quarter-on-quarter to INR 14.5 crores from INR 42.2 crore in Q4 FY '21 as the latter had the impact of provision for [indiscernible] and lead to [indiscernible] for the entire FY '21.And next is the promising one was Rail Neer, was the only segment we saw a Q-o-Q improvement in revenue due to the base impact that year-on-year growth has been very strong. Importantly, this segment reported quality EBITDA after a loss in the previous 4 quarters which was encouraging. The cash and bank balances, the net worth of the company as on 30 June 2021, is INR 1,614 crore and INR 1,554 crore, respectively. That brings me to the end of my opening remarks. Now we can move to the question-and-answer session. Thank you.
We can start the question-and-answer session now.
[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Viraj from Securities Investment Management.
I just have 2 questions. First is, compared to pre-COVID, how many trains are currently running? And second question is on our wallet offering. How is the traction coming around? And what is the revenue generation we're seeing?
When you ask me the pre-COVID level, the total number of our trains, I can give you that the special trains, which are running are very different from the trends which are actually running. So it may not be appropriate to compare the special trains with the regular trains.I can -- however, I can give you the figure that was there. Until 31st of March 2021, we were having the trains running, with the pantry car, 272, which has now increased to 316. On -- I think until yesterday, it was 316.Similarly, till 31st March 2021, we have trains, where we were providing train side vending, was 158. Now we are providing 256. So put together, we are providing hospitality services or the catering services in 572 trains as compared to 430 trains. And this is much above the COVID segment -- pre-COVID segment also.
And on the second part?
And second is the revenue from the Catering segment, the segmental revenue, we have -- let's look for a minute. The total license fee that we have received -- total revenue from the Catering has been around 56.72% -- INR 56.72 crores out of the total revenue of INR 257 crores, which is around 19% to 23% of the total revenue of the company, out of which INR 44 crores we received on the license fee of this train and concession fee in the name of a concession fee. So be it train side vending, be it normal train with the pantry car, the earning comes towards in the form of a license fee. That is constituting the major chunk of the fee that we get the revenue from the Catering segment.
No, I meant it on the wallet which we offer. How is the traction coming along?
Wallet [indiscernible] transaction [indiscernible].
We have a sharing of 60% to 40% with the Indian Railways. 60% is retained by IRCTC and the 40% goes to Railways. You asked about specifically about the wallet. That is Internet Ticketing. So in that wallet, there is no sharing with the Railways. It is a [ closed book ] wallet that IRCTC has. So the there is no sharing with anyone which is being run by IRCTC.
So how is the traction coming along? And what is the revenue generation there?
The earnings from the wallet has been -- let me have a look...
Only INR 150 crore.
It is -- this time, it has been around INR 1.61 crores because we are not taking any reregistration fee. And we also have -- in this, our business model is a little different. So the fresh registrations that are coming up, they are paying the fee. The earlier registration who are with us, they are maintaining some cash flow with us. That remains with us for doing the [ closure ] transactions.
Okay. Just also to understand the scale up of this, how should we see this ramping up cost?
The scaling of the e-wallet, clearly, there's a future, but you know that the closed wallets are not very encouraged. They need to have an open wallet also. So we have the launch in open wallet in the name of iMudra, which is just taking off. And before we could launch, many of the payment aggregators have also launched their wallet. So in competition with that, if we start promoting, this e-wallet has a future, but at the same time, the payment bank and other things are also coming up. So it will grow simultaneously.The few -- how many users we have? We already have around 6 lakh users in this e-wallet. And open wallet, also, we have a user. It has a future. People are using it. People have a lot of confidence in IRCTC. But growth is going to be a little low because other payment option is going to come. And they are already there. We have around 75 payment options available on our website. We have our own gateway also. We have our own wallet also. So out of those customers at liberty to use, we can only promote our things and that, we are doing very consistently.
The next question is from the line of Mayank Babla from Dalal & Broacha.
Congratulations on a great set of number, ma'am and sir. Ma'am, my question is around Internet Ticketing. Could you please give us the split between the convenience and non-convenience fees?
Total amount that IRCTC has earned from this particular stream of Internet Ticketing is around INR 149 crores. Out of which, convenience fee has been 69%, and non-convenience fee resources have been 31%. Like INR 104 crores is from the convenience fee, that INR 45 crores is from the non-convenience fee resources, which includes the service charge that we -- additional service charge that we collect from the B2B partners, our earnings from the advertisement and the promotions, value-generation schemes, then the earnings from our co-branded cards, then especially e-wallet charges also, and the enrollment fee that we charge from our B2B and B2C partners and integration charges that we take for the onetime integration that we do. It includes everything, income from the banners, income from the advertisements, income from the SMS, income from the promotional mailers.
Ma'am, what would be the -- yes, sorry, ma'am, what would be the revenue from advertisement specifically, if you could give us a breakup?
If you ask me advertisement, revenue should not be quoted alone, it should be advertisement on our website in the form of a banner also, in the form of SMS also, in the form of a mailer also. Put together this month -- this quarter, we have been able to generate INR 8.5 crores, out of which, INR 2.4 crore has been generated to account the banners. And I think INR 4.5 crore, we earned from the advertisements and then from the other resources.For promotional mailer also, we have been able to generate INR 1.1 crores. From SMS also, we have been able to generate around INR 44 lakhs. So put together, it was INR 8.5 crores against the total earnings from this segment. Last year, that was around to the tune of less then 9 -- INR 10 crores. So in the 3, the advertisement is also improving its [ teams ].
And ma'am, my second question was in the same space. Ma'am, what are the number of tickets booked, if you could give us that, in the quarter?
The total ticket in the first quarter has been around INR 6.37 crores. And number of passengers, normally, it comes out to be [ 1.7 or 1.8 ] is a factor per ticket. So number of passenger is around [ 8.1 crores ]. So you can say that 81% of the overall ticketing of Indian Railways in the results segment is online and is being done through IRCTC.
Right. And ma'am, my last question was relating to the Rail Neer. Ma'am, if you could give what was the latest capacity that we hold and the reason for the segment turning from a loss to profit, please?
In fact, this has been a little strange story for us also. We have a -- capacity in the Rail Neer is around 14.8 lakhs bottle per day -- liter per day. When I say bottles per day, I talk about the 1 liter bottle only. And the current production in the first quarter has been around -- roughly, you can say 35 -- 32% to 35% of the capacity because April and May had been bad for us. Had April and may not been bad for us because of the second wave, these profit margins from the Rail Neer would have been much better. Normally, this is the peak season for the Rail Neer and the water intake increases every year.For the percentage actual capacity, we have all the capacity, we are as of now working with the 35% of the capacity. Until June, I had 14 plants operational. But in July, we have opened 1 additional plant in Una. So per day production has been to the tune of 4.20 lakh bottles a day. That is the consumption and that we were able to sell off. The production is normally 20% more than that because we keep some storage also to handle the holidays or any periods which are coming in between. So when the summer increases, it is a good day for Rail Neer.
Okay. Ma'am, just one last request. I don't want to be sounding extra demanding, but ma'am, if all these pointers could be in an investor presentation every quarter, it would really go a long way for us analysts to use that data.
This Rail Neer data, should I bring...
Ma'am, all these tickets booked and all that, all the data points.
We'll include. We will include.
[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of Urmil Shah from Haitong Securities.
Ma'am, as regards to the ticketing volume maybe in July and August, have we seen the majority of the days being -- getting back to 9 lakh to 10 lakh tickets per day?
In fact, it has been more on many days. So you can compare like this that the average ticket, which were booked in these 3 months was around 2.12 crores, average ticket in 1 month. But in the month of July, this figure was 3.44 crores. So we were more in July by [ 1 crore ]. And the passenger traveled is also more. Normal passenger traveled in both -- in that particular quarter had been around less than 3 crores. But this month, it has been more than 5 crores.
[indiscernible] [ beyond that average ]?
Yes. So it is coming out -- 11 lakhs is coming out to be my average, roughly, [indiscernible].
Sure, sure, sure. Ma'am, as regards to the second [indiscernible] capacity, given that third wave still remains very unpredictable, would it be reasonable to expect that at least until end of this financial year, you will continue to get the benefit of debt capacity available for reservation?
It is very difficult to predict because we are not a deciding authority. But one thing is for sure that -- when you see a railway is very clean and [ keep inducting ] the trains every day. Whenever I give the -- I handle the investors call, the number of the trains from where the catering services is being provided and the number of the trains where we are doing the booking and providing the reservation to our customers is increasing. So we cannot comment upon what the decision is going to be taken by the ministry. But this [ 2-way ] segment is also profitable for Ministry of Railways. So it is not easy to [ dissuade ] with the profits too easily. I'm telling you from my experiences.
Sure, sure. Sure, ma'am.
I cannot commit anything on this behalf because I am not the controlling authority.
No, I totally understand. Ma'am, if you look at the non-ticketing revenue of the Internet Ticketing segment -- I mean, non-service charge revenue rather, that has been quite resilient from Q2 onwards. So once we have a normalization in Q3 FY '20, we did a peak of about INR 67 crores. Should we expect the non-service charge revenue to grow much faster than the service charge revenues once normalization comes in?
This particular thing, non-convenience fee resources, depend upon how the industry -- overall travel industry behaves. If the restriction from the state is taken away, and the third wave is not there, then the people will gradually shift from the need-based travel to the leisure travel or the excursion travel. In that case, the travel will increase, so the advertisement will also, in a consequent manner, they will also increase. The banners will be [ updated ], you will get better rates from the Google also, from all your partners. And all new government contracts will also come.We have been able to resume government contracts for our advertisement, which we'll be executing [indiscernible] at this quarter or the next quarter as the government decides. So our revenue in this segment, I anticipate personally, that it is going to increase because -- if the things keep on improving the way they are. Any third wave danger or any decrease in the vaccination, however, will have direct impact on the travel industry. So if the travel industry improves, everything related to the travel shall improve. That is our past experience has been.
Sure, ma'am. That was encouraging. Ma'am, and just wanted an update on the talk with Zomato and Swiggy on the e-catering front. And if you could share what has been the daily order run rate in Q1 and the first month of this quarter?
In fact, our experiences in the Catering are improving. Because if you compare with the pre-COVID, we are very high. We are very near to that, I'm sorry. We are very near to that. [indiscernible] we have been able to catch that figure also. Although the number of our trains is -- overall trains running is less, on few days, we could catch -- we could match the average figure of pre-COVID levels also. It is consistently increasing. Our number of station is increasing. Number of vendors who are providing the service is also increasing. People are [ opting ].Our talks with the Zomato and Swiggy are not very encouraging because once, they were all busy in their IPOs, et cetera. And they were charging pretty high for a few things. So we are in talks with another brand to bring our own brand in the matter who can supply the food who can work as an aggregator, delivery aggregator the way they are.So we are coming up with another brand, and we are going to tie up. One such brand is also a B2C partner. We are in discussion with them [indiscernible]. They are coming up as a delivery aggregator. So we will bring our own brand as an aggregator for -- provide the e-catering food. That is what we are thinking. Otherwise, the things will become so costly for the customer, people may not opt for that.
Sure. Ma'am, did I understand that we might launch our own brand in e-catering?
We may launch in association with others. So we will support them, provide them area, hand-holding will be done. Zomato, Swiggy, yes, things are -- talks are not yet closed because they were busy in other things. And the total quantum, the kind of -- I think I cannot explain because the ways this -- Swiggy's stuff and the Zomato stuff is very different what the railways deliveries are. It is a static segment, it is a mobile segment. So kind of deliveries are very different and expectation of the customers are also very different.So we have to bring them to our level so that the deliveries ensured in the case of nondelivery are not there in their cases. If any delay is there, train is gone. So we have to ensure that if order is taken, it has to be delivered too. Logistics is very important in e-catering to be done on the railways. Unless and until we are certain of that, we may not do any tie-up further. For there, we are certain we will do a tie-up. Otherwise, we will invite a lot of complaints and dissatisfaction amongst the customers.
Sure. Sure, ma'am. This would really enhance our [indiscernible]. And ma'am, my last question was -- there has been a news flow as regards to the strategic partner we had talked about on the private [indiscernible] front. It appears that it might be more of a financial partner rather than a strategic partner. So if you could throw some light on that front. And the news report suggests that the bids received for the [ 12 plus ] has been much lower than the earlier interest. So how -- what does that change for us? That was my last question.
IRCTC was looking for a partner to participate in the [ train private ] tender since last 1 year. We had floated our expression of interest thrice. But some of our individual clusters, we could not find a partner. So we thought let's go for a big thing. And we should now finalize our strategic partner. So we came up with another expression of interest in the very transparent manner, and we could pursue many fund houses. And [ NIFL ] was one of them. They came -- they had filled the bid and they became our expression of -- they become our partner. And we have already signed a nonbinding MOU with them and the binding MOU is in process for which the legal consultants, et cetera, on both ends are working. So we have also participated in the bid in 3 clusters and the results from the ministry are awaited. So we are yet to receive any advice. This is the update.
The next question is from the line of Richard D'souza from SBI Mutual Fund.
Yes. Just one question from my [indiscernible]. When we look at the number of trains that the ticketing services were offered, there seems to be a substantial increase. Now is this increase in number of trains because Indian Railways has launched new things? Or is it because some of the trains which are out of here [indiscernible] have come under your [indiscernible]. just wanted to know the reason, ma'am.
Actually, we operate only the tourist trains. It is the Indian Railways who operate the trains and we provide the reservation for that. And I'm looking -- if I look at the figure, if I compare -- I have some figure for the June, July and August. I can tell you the average number of our trains per day. In the June, it was 2,521. In July, it was around 2,700. Now in the month of August, it is 2,750. So you can see the gradual increase happening every month.And you say these are the new trains or it is the previous train. The trains are being run in the name of a special train. Regular trains with the same numbers have not yet been restored. But same level of services with some difference has been started like [ steel ] railway is running Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, the premium trains, but it's a different number.The only thing which may not be running will be the passenger trains in the local areas where actually IRCTC was not a beneficiary. The tickets were being booked through UTS, unreserved ticketing resources. So since -- we are beneficiary because of the [ second risk class ] being introduced in these trains. This is an additional advantage to us.
Okay. So when you look at this number, 2,750, which you said are running in August, for which you would have offered ticket booking, so pre-COVID, what would have been the number of trains running?
See, when I say 2,750, I'm talking to and fro. On a few days back, I was having one discussion at Ministry of Railways. Around 1,750 to 1,800 trains they run. The 3,600 kind of train, 3,500 kind of a train, they run. So you can say we must be lagging behind about, I think, 400 more trains that will come. 400, 450 more trains will be coming in the future or the numbering may change, but with special trains, we are a little [indiscernible].
Okay. Okay. And of those, the premium segment would be how much?
30% is the premium segment. 30% is the premium segment.
Okay. Okay. In this, you include the ACs and the -- second AC...
Compared to premium segment, it is not only the Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto, this is super-fast trains also. So around 30% is super -- put together, the premium train. Rest is all normal mail express train. And passenger train, of course, is not counted in this 750 trains of the Indian Railways, which they were running earlier. Passenger trains are counted in a different kind of an area because they are the -- running between inter cities, the intercity shuttle.
The next question is from the line of Rahul Jain from Dolat Capital.
First question, in the Catering side, these are note to accounts that there is an INR 18 crore charge, which was not charged through revenue. Can you give some clarity on...
[indiscernible] we are not able to hear you.
Hello. Is it better now?
It is now better.
Yes. So in the note to account, we have given this INR 18.5 crore charge relating to unbundling model. Can you share more clarity on this? What is this relating to?
They have not...
Yes. Actually, in -- as per the Catering Policy of 2017, the trains are to be run on the model of unbundling where the production and service both have been segregated. Production has to be done from the kitchens being monitored closely by IRCTC under the CCTV, [ the QR code ], et cetera, and the supply is used to be done by the different service providers.In all those trains, some revenue sharing has to be done with the railways, which was done in the pre-COVID period. During the COVID period and today, when this kind of -- because we are not serving any cooked food as of now because the impact of COVID is still being considered and the railway has not resumed the normal operation. So last year, we did not pay any commission on the unbundling to railways. And this year also, until the tying the services run on this model, we need not pay.
Okay, okay, okay. And any input we can share in terms of this privatization potential CapEx we may incur in FY '22 and FY '23, if things goes as per the current frame of mind?
See, it all depends if you win the bid or not. If you get LOA, so some CapEx has to be planned and some investment has to be done by our partner, for which we are in stage of a signing and binding MOU with them. So until that time, I even -- and I get an LOA, it may not be appropriate to -- for me to decide and discuss that. Because after that, we may form a separate SPV, and then SPV will decide how much investment will be done. So I cannot speak on behalf of SPV as of now.
Right. And if we could give the AC, non-AC mix and UPI share for this quarter?
I can tell you that in this quarter, in April, May and June, the percentage share of the second class, 2S, has been around 39% and average -- that is average. And sleeper class, again, has been around 39%. Third AC has been 14%. And AC chair car has been roughly 2%, and [ same ] AC has been around 3.3%.
Right. And the UPI share in all tickets?
UPI share is around 26%.
This has dropped. Is there any reason for this?
There is no drop. It is generally -- average is coming down, I would say, around 26%. There is no drop. UPIs are picking up. Maybe the people have preferred to walk for another model.
Right, right. And just last one from my side. Are we seeing any improvement in terms of license fees going up in the catering contracts since things are opening up volume on the passenger side are also increasing significantly?
Yes. Positivity brings positivity. So as the things are opening up, footfall at the station is increasing. Occupancy of the train is picking up. So the more trains are also coming up. So our license fee gradually, they were very bad time for IRCTC in the April, May. We didn't -- could not find a contractor for many of our trains, and we had to run departmentally.But gradually, when the footfall started improving, so we are finding good contractors, and we are also earning good fees. Of course, this fees is not at par with the pre-COVID level. But certainly, we have improved as compared to the COVID levels, especially April and May.
[Operator Instructions] The next question is from the line of Mitesh Shah from Motilal Oswal.
Ma'am, just one -- a couple of question. One is in terms of [indiscernible] higher than the railways planning to add one more 3-on-3 AC coaches to the rail, and that will be over a period of next 2 years. So is it possible for you to give us some more detail around it?
You might have heard a reply of Honorable Railway Minister in the Parliament also. In one of the reply, while I was also [indiscernible] in front of one committee, because the discussion happened in that committee, shall not be brought in public. I cannot discuss about that. But the reply of Honorable Minister is very clear that as of now, railway cars [indiscernible] service to customer cannot be compared with the revenue. That is the reply he had given. So this indirectly, we interpret the likelihood of removing the pantry cars is not being seen. Although I'm not the right person to comment upon that [indiscernible] there is no likelihood appears.
Got it. Okay. And ma'am, as far as the number of claims are concerned, what are we operating at compared to pre-COVID levels?
We are around, I think, 700 [indiscernible] short.
2,000?
Yes. 400 payers, you can say. We are short 400 payers, we are short of. So once they are introduced, then we'll be able to manage the pre-COVID levels. So although our bookings are much higher than the pre-COVID levels.
Yes, that's because of [ 2 ways ]. But ma'am, on a base of 2,200 trains, we were 400 short over a base of 2,000?
I just know I answered this question. Let's say, previously, Ministry was operating around 1,750 pairs of trains, so you can say 3,500 trains. As in the month of August, we are operating around 2,750 trains. So this is the difference, which will we filled subsequently once the situation improves further. And it is happening almost every day. We are getting new trains.
Got it. And ma'am, one final question, [indiscernible] highlights that you've already applied for it. If that integration kind of goes through -- and as a consumer, we are [indiscernible] ticket. Will we make some money on the payment gateway [indiscernible]?
Yes, we do. iPay is our kind of a very important product that we have launched in this year [indiscernible] we have been working on the product the last 3 years. If I just share my -- the revenue from my payment gateway and the volume that we are handling, around -- you can say that 61 lakh transactions happened in the quarter of this year. And around INR 635 crores transaction -- rupee transaction happened through using our iPay gateway. Our revenue last year has been to the tune of INR 14 crore. And this year, it has not been -- this has been around INR 4 crores or so.So net of these, netting off, if I do calculate the entire revenue because in our payment gateway, you earn through various methods. Various -- you have merchant PMC amount also, you have a net earning also. You get from the other banks also, bank shares is also there. So revenue sharing is also there. So we share [indiscernible] revenue with other banks also. And the net revenue, which is coming to IRCTC comes out to be around INR 3.5 crores.
Got it. And ma'am -- in the first quarter, got it. And ma'am, where are we on the integration part on the app?
It is there already in the app. Maybe you -- recently, we have changed the place, you will find [indiscernible]. It was not prominently placed earlier. Now you will find the difference from 16th of August. In all of our website, our [ CG ] will be appropriately based so that people are able to locate it faster.
Ma'am, what kind of traction should we add on numbers because of this integration because the market size is very, very large as far as the other segment is concerned? So I'm just trying to understand if you can give us some sense on the size of the opportunity here [indiscernible]?
See, then we have to think up beyond the Internet Ticketing because the CG size is very -- the payment gateway, it works in 2 manners. One is the CG manner [ basic ] payment aggregator. For becoming a payment aggregator, we require certain approvals from the RBI for which we are applying and the necessary changes in the memorandum of association will also be made. But if the need comes, our CG will be formed subsequently, if the need comes.So we are going beyond Internet Ticketing also in the iPay and we are talking to many agencies like EPFO, et cetera. So that this particular gateway, who has now stabilized in the last 3 years, and we have also -- we are tweaking our internal processes and making our reconciliation more strong so that we can take the payment gateway outside. There, the more revenue will come. Here, the revenue which is there, it is going to be -- finally, it is -- we are going to share someone else's share.The total inventory -- the booking on the Internet Ticketing side is correlated to the total inventory available, which is going to be fixed or may increase, not may increase substantially. If we really want to increase the revenue, I think we may have to go out for which the efforts are on, and we are [indiscernible] our internal processes, which we have done. In this quarter -- we will add in this quarter also. Maybe in the third quarter, you will see that we are starting going out and the necessity approvals from the RBI, et cetera, are available with us. And the product is to be launched in the open market.
Got it. So ma'am, just to reconfirm, the UTS integration is already done and will be visible from 15th of August, right?
We are trying our very best to bring it into all the forums. We -- in fact, we have also applied to [ foreign ] agencies also to bring iPay because now -- earlier, we did not have net banking. Now we have net banking also.
Understood. Understood. Okay, ma'am.
So time has come and we can now take it to UTS for all government payment gateways. Maybe income tax, we may think of. So we can -- once our process -- internal processes, so far [indiscernible]. Anything goes wrong, we could manage because you have a controller. But for going outside, you may need to have a very strong system, which we have. We are only formalizing [indiscernible] the rates, et cetera, so that we can take out this product in the market.
[Operator Instructions] The next question is from [indiscernible] from [ SEB Life ].
Yes. Most of my questions have been answered. I just want to clarify one thing, the number of tickets and the passenger travel number which you have provided. So I think 63 -- 6.3 crore is the number of ticket. And number of passenger travel numbers would be in Q1?
Yes, 6.37 crores is the number of tickets traveled in the first quarter, number of tickets booked in the first quarter. 8.1 crores is the number of our passengers traveled for the tickets booked through our website.
Okay. Okay. So that turns out to be just 1.3 passenger per ticket versus earlier average of 1.6, 1.7 passenger?
Yes. But it is normally 1.7 to 1.8. On few days, it has been 1.6. On few holidays, it is [ larger ].
Okay, okay, okay. And what would be the average elastic capacity or the capacity utilization number this quarter on the train? Any such -- any approximate number around that?
[indiscernible] occupancy.
Occupancy number, yes.
Occupancy because we don't have -- because we book, we don't check.
The next question is from the line of [ Sumit ] from [ Capital Lines ].
So I just didn't get the part on e-catering. I may request you can repeat what was the update on the e-catering business and the tie-up with Zomato and Swiggy you were talking about?
E-catering is a business that -- where the person can order online using our app or our website, and the food is provided on the site. We were intending to tie up with Zomato and Swiggy. The talks were on. It got delayed because those both agencies were busy, and they were charging a little higher for serving the food. And our food is being served in the train is of a -- because service in the train and the service in the static unit or in the house is very different. So one has to be a very, very strong logistics.So though our deals with the Zomato and the Swiggy not yet finalized, talks are still on. Meanwhile, we could succeed in one of our B2C partners who is also coming up with a delivery aggregator with our own brands. So where railway can -- where IRCTC can also provide some hand-holding kind of a thing, so that the hot food is served.We could achieve the pre-COVID levels on few days with the limited number of trains we had. And our average booking of [indiscernible] food is around 17,000 meals a day as compared to 21,000 meals pre-COVID level. Although on few days, we were able to achieve 21,000 meals a day also. The number of our station providing e-catering is gradually picking up, still less than pre-COVID levels. And the number of orders that we are receiving is also less than pre-COVID levels, but still picking up.
So at this moment, who's providing this service of delivery to you?
We have all the vendors. We have delivery aggregators. We have food aggregators. We have Domino's, we have Subway, we have Faasos, we have [indiscernible]. We have all the food plazas linked and all the other brands of the local brands are also lined. So of course, many brands are there. 252 stations we have opened this -- and more than 1,000 vendors are already with us, who have started work.
And will these B2C partners [indiscernible] you are looking to tie up?
Yes. Yes. We have recently started with our B2C partner last 3 months. In the first quarter, results are very encouraging. And many of our partners like MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, Yatra, Railofy and [ Confirm Ticket ], they have started selling tickets and we are giving some share of our revenue to them also. Some charges we are sharing with them. With that, the booking has increased. And booking that we get from them is around 2,500 meals a day. Normally, we are getting on the B2C partner also. And we are also thinking of revising our policy. Maybe subsequently, we'll do.
I wanted to know who's this new B2C partner who's coming out with the delivery aggregation business?
We are in talks with many. In fact, let us see where we succeed.
The next question is from the line of Suresh Thanvi from IDBI Capital.
Am I clear now, ma'am?
Yes, better.
So my question is with regard to, ma'am, DFC. Have you seen any progress in DFC and any space being vacant with regards to passenger drinks? Is the ministry and IRCTC [indiscernible] for any vacan't space and what is the [indiscernible]? Because earlier deadline for DFC was June 2022, [indiscernible] space of that. So just give me an update on that.
It may not be very appropriate to me comment upon the working of our DFC, but I can certainly tell you from the news I read and in the earlier [indiscernible], it's a continuous improvement they are showing. Dedicated freight corridor is -- that freight traffic that is moving to a dedicated freight corridor is increasing day after day. In fact, during the COVID period, et cetera, [indiscernible] region special, et cetera, many of them moved through that corridor. So the corridor is showing consistent improvement, but how -- I may not be able to share any figures with you on this because I don't have actually.
Ma'am, my question was with regards to -- has any space opened up because of the shifting of the goods train to DFC? And has that been converted into passenger train?
No, the passenger trains have not started moving on the dedicated trade corridors. The private train tender is yet to be decided. And the new train, passenger trains, in case of emergency, of course. When anything [indiscernible] happens in the railways, the alternative route, I don't know exactly, but maybe they may be using the dedicated freight route also, but provided that as [indiscernible] for the passenger.
Ma'am, for old route...
[indiscernible] for the passenger and for the goods is very different.
Right, ma'am. For the old route, not the DFC, but for the old route, has any space being created for the high speed or semi-high speed for the trains? And is that actually part of that?
I'm not aware of. I'm sorry, I'm not aware of. Not yet, I don't know.
Next question is from the line of [ Vitra ] of [ KR Institution ].
Congrats on very good set of numbers. Ma'am, my first question in regards to the [ moving ] factors that we offer. So could you give some update where we stand and how the factor is since we are half of the [indiscernible]?
Tourism, we do domestic tourism also and we do inbound also and we are doing outbound also. We are into all sectors of tourism. We have a product ranging from [ INR 800 to INR 850 ] a day. So I can -- if you ask me what kind of tourism we are doing now, we are doing the majority of our -- since our regular trains are not running for rail-based tourism, we are doing only the mass tourism now.In fact, in this -- once the trains opened up after June, I'm very happy to announce to this house that my first Bharat Darshan has come back successfully, which we operated from the south zone and 2 are running. So we have already started our mass tourism after the second wave. And we would be operating around 22 trains. So far, this I'm telling you, up to December, we had announced. And we would be, I think, more trains now if the situation remains the same and we carry the people.So the tourism will pick up. And last year, if you ask me, the total number of Bharat Darshan train and [indiscernible] were 25. So that was in the entire year. So if the things go right up to December, we would have operated these many trains. In addition to this, in the [ dealer ] segment, we have already announced 1 train for [indiscernible] which is already full, which is our good rate, which we are using in a [ lie over ] period and taking it to all that traditional [indiscernible]. That is [indiscernible] and that has been a big hit. Since it was a big hit, we had to launch another [indiscernible] already. We have launched that also in the dealer segment.So that is very encouraging, and we are getting a lot many bookings. 2, 3 circuits of mine have already booked. Then to promote the North Frontier, NF region, [ 7 sisters ], we have also launched another good package. It is also getting good attention from our tourists. So in air packages, yes, our [indiscernible] has been a great hit. Our Kerala package, in spite of the pandemic and the situation over there, people booked many. In fact, we had to launch a series of the package and the [ Kashmi ] also, we had launched.So tourism is gradually taking off. Line 2 is picking up. [indiscernible] train is picking up. And our mass tourism, in the name of [indiscernible] station, has also started picking up. So air bookings that have gone up. The circuit, although not very encouraging, we are also going to do some promotions with the [ advertising ] business because many of the visa restrictions are still there. So we are keeping our fingers crossed for the tourism this year. And outbound also, until the restriction opens, we can't bring the people out. So let's focus on the domestic tourism. That is what the company has decided. And we are all way out to promote our things that you might be -- think to our social media handles also and other places.
Can you give us the run rate of air ticket booking?
It was around, I think, 2,700 segments a day until yesterday when I inquired.
Okay. Since our business is being [indiscernible] we are reaching to the pre-COVID level, so how should we look at the margin profile for the year?
Are you talking me about that -- specifically about the [indiscernible]?
Yes, [indiscernible] margin profile.
We think our margins have gone up by -- from 12% to 15% recently. We have increased the rates.
[indiscernible] partners?
I'm not able to hear you fully. Can you please speak a bit louder?
So the increases across the board with the new as well as old partners?
Yes. When we do, we have to ensure level playing. We cannot segregate.
And ma'am, can you give us an update on our CapEx program for the year and then next year?
CapEx last time also, the leftover work of the previous year will be completed because some few things in the April, May make could not be completed. Around I think last year, we had announced that INR 100 crores will be spent. So we'll continue with that. And we will -- if we win this tender for the private trains, then the CapEx is going to be much, much more. It may not be this year. Maybe next year, we will have that.
As this was the last question for today, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments.
Well, it has been a very thought-provoking session, I must say. Industry is well read. And all our investors are well -- again, they were quite inquisitive to know the developments happening in the company. And it is -- it has always been a pleasure interacting with the investors. At times, it really has helped us in taking few decisions, what the market is actually looking for.So to know the market trends, it is very -- I think interactional with the investors to continue this process and really strengthen the bond between the investor and the company. So I wish you all the best for [ Shravana ] -- I mean Shravana and the festival. And of course, a very happy Independence Day to all of you. Hopefully, this third wave doesn't [indiscernible] us and tourism and the hospitality industry is able to tail off. If we tail off well, investors will certainly. Wishing you all the best once again. Thank you very much.
Thank you. On behalf of Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd., that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.