IRCTC shares zoom 523% from issue price despite market volatility

Even though Coronavirus hammered the Sensex down by 807 points and Nifty by 242 points on February 24, IRCTC shares have touched a new high

New Delhi: Even though Coronavirus hammered the Sensex down by 807 points and Nifty by 242 points on February 24, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) shares have touched a new high. The shares scaled its all-time high of Rs 1,995 on Tuesday morning, recording a 523 percent gain from the issue price.

In the past month, the stock has zoomed by 99 percent against a 3 percent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

IRCTC trading just shy of the Rs 2,000-mark

Having been issued at Rs 320 in October last year, the scrip is now trading just shy of the Rs 2,000 mark. At the time of filing this report, IRCTC shares were trading at Rs 1,946.50 apiece.

IRCTC recently posted a 179.65 percent rise in profit year-on-year at Rs 205.80 crore for Q3 of FY 2019-20. The figure stood at Rs 73.59 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Revenue from operations went up 64.59 percent to Rs 715.98 crore in Q3FY20.

IRCTC

IRCTC is a unique player in the market and is the sole provider of online tickets, catering services and packaged drinking water to the Indian Railway passengers. Its website, www.irctc.co.in, records the most transactions in the Asia-Pacific region. Transaction volumes averaged between 25 million and 28 million per month in the five months ended August 31, 2020.

The Railway PSU has a market share of around 73 percent and 45 percent in online rail bookings and packaged drinking water. IRCTC offers hospitality services on trains and other locations and promotes tourism in India through PPP ventures. It is a Miniratna Category I public sector enterprise.