Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD
Get unlimited access to 10,000+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just
Try GOLD - Free
Why IRCTC can't earn a 'buy'
Mint Hyderabad
|December 25, 2024
Slowing speed
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp. Ltd's (IRCTC) shares hit a new low for 2024 at ₹777.20 on Monday and are hovering near those levels. The stock's lacklustre performance over the past three years is a reminder that companies, even in monopoly businesses like IRCTC in railway ticket booking, do not see a linear rise in profit and market capitalization.
This applies more so if the monopoly business is government-owned, which means there are higher chances that it will not be allowed to make windfall profits and will face challenges in cost-cutting through manpower rationalization.
As IRCTC would find it difficult to raise ticket-booking charges, it has to rely on volume growth and ancillary businesses. While volume growth has its constraints, ancillary businesses have not done enough to please its investors.
This story is from the December 25, 2024 edition of Mint Hyderabad.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Mint Hyderabad
Mint Hyderabad
Sebi rolls back MF nomination norms
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has rolled back key aspects of its January 2025 framework overhauling nomination rules governing demat accounts and mutual fund (MF) folios, after acknowledging in March challenges in the new system that sought to reduce unclaimed investor assets.
1 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Investors scrutinize token costs as AI startups scale up
Investors are urging startup founders to clearly explain per-user AI costs and unit economics
1 min
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Asian Paints beats FY26 profit calls
Asian Paints Ltd joined its peers to flag the West Asia war as a near-term uncertainty on demand, even as the country’s largest paintmaker reported revenue from operations ahead of Street estimates.
1 min
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Friday's 1.5% fall worsens Street's weekly slide show
India’s equity markets ended a volatile week in the red, as a combination of geopolitical uncertainty, weak monsoon forecasts and MSCI-driven institutional flows weighed on sentiment.
1 min
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
The big scoop on Gujarat's ice-cream culture
From legacy giants to artisanal brands, Gujarat's love affair with ice cream is anything but vanilla
4 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Give children a Say in their education
Policymakers would do well to talk to kids who have great ideas on how they’d like to be taught
4 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Missing all the microdrama
Ad agencies have spent decades perfecting the art of tight, emotional storytelling.
2 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
Back in the USSR with these artists
An upcoming show of Indian art in Russia looks at the porosity of cultural borders and contested terrain of identity
5 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
With the finals over, what now for ISL?
The football league has been plagued with an existential crisis for over a year now. Can it find a way to sustain itself?
5 mins
May 30, 2026
Mint Hyderabad
When satire hits the sweet spot
Shrilal Shukla’s 1968 novel ‘Raag Darbari’ remains a touchstone to understand India’s governance dystopia, a new book reveals
6 mins
May 30, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size