Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Container Corporation of India Limited Q3 FY 2026 earnings conference call hosted by DAM Capital Advisors Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star, then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Kunal Shah from DAM Capital. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Yeah, hi everyone. Welcome to the 3Q F 2026 earnings call of Container Corporation of India. We have the management being represented by Mr. Sanjay Swarup, Chairman and Managing Director. At this point, I'd like to hand over the call to the management for their opening remarks, post which we can take up the Q&A. Thanks, and over to you, sir.
Good morning, to all of you. I am Sanjay Swarup, CMD of Container Corporation. I am joined by my Director, Sri Ajit Kumar Panda, Director of Projects and Services; Mr. Vijoy Kumar Singh, Director of International Marketing and Operations; Mr. Mohammad Azhar Shams, Director of Domestic; and Mr. Harish Chandra, Principal Executive Director of Finance, Company Secretary, and CFO. So I would like to give some opening remarks. After that, we can go for a question-and-answer session. At the outset, I am glad to announce that the Board of Directors have approved a dividend of INR 3.40 on share of INR 5 par value. That is 68% in its meeting, concluded yesterday. So till now, the total dividend for this FY that has been given to shareholders is INR 7.60, which is 152%. Second point is the throughput.
Throughput, we have achieved a throughput of 4.15 million TEUs in the period ending December 2025, which is ever highest in the company's history. Throughput growth has been around 11%, in which EXIM has increased by 10%, and domestic has shown a growth of 13%. It quite aligns with the, in fact, it is better than India's international trade merchandise growth also, in which exports have shown a growth of 2.4%, which is $330.3 billion, and imports have shown a growth of 6% at $578.6 billion for the first nine months of this financial year. Domestic, there has been less growth as we had projected. We had projected 20% growth, whereas we have achieved around 13%. The primary reasons for this is that we have not picked up the low-margin business in domestic.
Second is that, the tank containers, which we were thinking that in Q3 we will get a good supply, but somehow it got delayed during manufacturing. And now in Q4, we are getting supply of tank containers, and domestic loading is picking up now. And there has been less demand of gunny bales, also because of the disturbances in Bangladesh. As far as market share is concerned, we increased our market share at JNPT by 186 basis points, and at the Pipavav Port by 93 basis points, and Mundra, our market share went down by 232 basis points. And the good thing is that we increased the market share without sacrificing our margins. Rail revenue margin increased by around 200 basis points from 25.7% to 27.7%, and operating margin also increased by around 100 basis points from 30.2% to 31.2%. Operating income has shown a good growth of 3.3%.
Profit before depreciation has shown a growth of 1.8% for the period ending, and if we see for the Q3, the profit before depreciation has increased by 7.6%. There has been a flattish performance of PAT due to the depreciation, which was high by around INR 68 crore in this quarter. The reason for that is because in last financial year we had done some correction for life of wagons. Because of that, the depreciation was less in last financial year, so that has been now at par, and because of that effect, we are seeing a dip in PAT, where PAT profit before depreciation is showing a very healthy growth.
reason for less PAT are some other reasons are also there, like there's subdued demand in domestic streams, and second is the decrease in EXIM load by 2% due to less demand in North India, and depreciation I've already explained to you. LLF also in this quarter LLF is showing increase of around 23%, and which is in line with the total LLF that we pay to railways, around INR 450 crore every year. Last year, there were some reversals, because of that, the LLF in this quarter was INR 89 crore. It is now, in this financial year, it is corrected to INR 110.7 crore, which is the actual LLF we will be paying to railways.
Now, there has been growth in double-stack rakes also, growth of 7% in this financial year till now, from 4608 rakes to 4933 rakes, which is quite a healthy growth, and reduction in empty running of rakes has also quite substantial. In EXIM, it is 21%, domestic it is 8.5%, total 12%. So both these factors, growth in double stack, reduction in empty rakes, have made a positive contribution to the company's bottom line. We are continuously upgrading our infrastructure, as I've been telling in previous calls also. In this financial year till now, we have commissioned 31 high-speed rakes, which is also an all-time high for the company, and now we are having a robust fleet of 413 rakes in our you know kitty.
We have procured around 3,800 containers in this financial year till now, so total container fleet stands at around 57,000 containers of our own ownership. Seeing the robust demand in the market, which I will be just telling you a short while from now, the Board of Directors have yesterday enhanced the CapEx budget for this financial year by 23% from INR 860 crore to INR 1,060 crore. Till now, in this financial year, we have already spent INR 717 crore on CapEx. So we are on track, and we are procuring infrastructure, building up infrastructure, seeing the robust demand in the market. Now I will like to tell about the two streams, EXIM and domestic. EXIM is showing excellent growth in this financial year.
EXIM alone is likely to cross a turnover of rupees 60 billion revenue, which will be all-time high for EXIM stream. It's a very handsome growth, and it is likely to increase in the coming months, which I will be explaining a short while from now. Western DFC connectivity is expected by March 2026 to JNPT. It will give a very big boost to EXIM business. Export growth till now we have experienced around 23% growth in aluminum ingots, 22% growth in meat, 14% growth in auto parts, and very good growth in rapeseed meal and rice. Imports, also we have, experienced a growth of four times growth in glass items which are used in solar panel, 69% growth in raw cotton, 29% growth in auto parts, 22% growth in furniture.
We have rolled out a liberalized policy for cabotage movement and DPD, and this is, you know, make likely to make a very big contribution in volumes in the coming months. Already we are seeing the impact in EXIM. There is a healthy growth of 7.5% on pan-India basis in imports, out of which, JNPT has shown a growth of 17%, Mundra has shown a growth of 8.4% for us, Chennai has shown a growth of 14%, and Visakhapatnam has shown a growth of 28%. There is a healthy growth of 7% in exports also for CONCOR in this financial year. Now, we come to domestic. In domestic, there is bulk cement and tank containers, which is likely to drive growth in the coming months in a big way.
The talks are in advanced stage with Petronet Limited for ethane propane loading, on long-term basis. A long-term agreement we are going to sign with this company at the jetty, loading at the jetty, and also talks are in advanced stage with GAIL, Gas Authority , for their PTA business from Mangalore port. And the end-to-end logistics train that we are running from Delhi to Kolkata via Agra and Kanpur, that has been a huge success, and we are getting very good business on this end-to-end train also. At this juncture, I would like to keep my guidance for 13%, that is 10% EXIM, 20% domestic, unchanged. We are confident that by the end of financial year we will be able to meet this guidance. Now I would like to give a brief snapshot, what are the future of CONCOR in the next three years going forward.
So the EXIM, which will be, as per our, calculations and predictions by FY 2029, every year EXIM will show growth of more than 15% per annum. So for three years we can see back-to-back growth of 15%, and primary drivers will be Western DFC by March 2026. Second is assured transit time trains that we will be running between JNPA and NCR on our mega terminal at Dadri and, at Kathuwas. Next is the double stacks. We will be bringing, I am glad to announce you that we will be bringing Jodhpur on double stack map very soon. In this financial year only, we are going to commission a new terminal from where we, we are, we will be running double stack trains, between Jodhpur and ports. Second is, Ahmedabad also. We are going to bring double stack business very soon.
At present, our terminal is not able to handle double stack. Because of that, we are, you know, not able to get that much business. Once we develop a new terminal, we are developing near Sanand, in which we'll be capable of handling double stack rakes, and it will be also on DFC. That will also give big boost to our traffic at Ahmedabad. We have already commissioned a few terminals at Mandalgarh, Jajpur, Kadakola, from which we are expecting good traffic in the coming three years. Then next is the Nepal traffic that we are catering from our facility at Visakhapatnam and Kolkata also. So, Nepal traffic we are running at present to Birganj, and now very soon we will be starting at Raxaul and Biratnagar also. So, this will give further boost to our EXIM business as well as domestic business till FY 2029.
We are having a tie-up, five-year contract with all major shipping lines like Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, etc. This, these are also going to positively contribute. Next big thing is the shipping sector in which already we have made our presence felt in Middle East. Now we have finalized a contract with another agency for Far East. So Far East also we will be starting the services. Already one container we have sent. So Middle East plus Far East, the short voyages we will see for a few years, and then we will go for longer voyages. So these will be the major contributors for more than 15% growth in EXIM. Now let me come to domestic.
Domestic, there is a huge potential. Untapped market is there, and we are expecting more than 20% growth every year for the next three years, in which bulk cement and tank containers will be a primary contributor. We have already signed agreement with UltraTech, with Adani, with My Home Cement, with JK, and with other parties, and they are expected to give very good business to us in bulk cement. We have also tied up with big corporate customers like Vedanta, Jindal, Tata, GAIL, Petronet. Already I have told you. So all these factors will give very good growth in domestic of more than 20% for next three years. So by FY 2029 I am projecting a top line of INR 15,000 crore for the company, which is quite achievable, and 10 million TEUs handling throughput, and 75 million tons of cargo, containerized cargo.
These three projections I am making for FY 2029, and the Board of Directors has appreciated these projections, and that was the reason for enhancing the capital budget so that we are having equipment with us to meet these targets. Let me assure you CapEx will be around the same lines for next three years also. We are in expansion mode because there is a lot of demand in the market, and we are going to tap all the demand and added more and more business to our company. These were my opening remarks. Now, we can start the question-answer session.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Pulkit Patni from Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Sir, my question is, you've been giving guidance on volumes, and as you rightly highlighted, you're not too far from that. But on the revenue front, we are significantly lower. We barely do mid-single-digit revenue this year based on how we are tracking. So, just wanted to understand what's really happening on realization because it's not only domestic, but even on the EXIM side, our realizations have been fairly muted, this year. And in your expectation, because you are guiding for a pretty robust number even for the next three years, what is the assumption of, of, realization increase that you have taken?
See, EXIM, there is a, the realization is not commensurate with the physical. The reason is, you are seeing this throughput growth, and you are correlating it with the revenue growth. Actually, you should see originating numbers for that purpose. And second thing is, tonnage is not the correct parameter for correlating with revenue. Actually, it is NTKM, net ton kilometers. That is the basic parameter you should be focusing because the revenue is a function of two things: tonnage and distance, lead. So if you see tonnage increases but lead comes down, so that has an effect on NTKM. So correct parameter to correlate loading with the revenue will be NTKM, in my opinion. So as I already told in my opening remarks, the lead of EXIM has gone down by 2% due to less demand in North India.
That is a primary contributor for less realization, as you call. But as far as we are concerned, we got a good realization in EXIM as compared to last year. Okay, it is not commensurate with the physical volume. That reason already I told you. Now, for the next three years, top line of INR 15,000 crore that I have told is quite achievable because when DFC comes, we are optimistic that we will be able to run a short transit train on that, which will be bringing a long lead traffic because it is 1,500 km from NCR to JNPA, and it will give a good revenue also. And light cargo, which is at present moving by road, it will come on rail because there will be transit assurance, there will be cost benefits.
The growth that we will be getting will be excellent in terms of physical volumes as well as revenue.
Sir, can I take the liberty of asking one more question?
Yeah, sure.
Yeah. Sir, if I look at the last three years, while I understand the full connection of DFC to JNPT has been completed and the impact will come through, but few ports in Gujarat, Mundra, Pipavav have been connected to DFC for a while now. The impact of that have not really reflected. If you could just help us sort of solve this a little bit, what is the reason that just JNPT connection would be such a big game changer for CONCOR in terms of volume?
Now the thing is that Gujarat ports like Mundra and Pipavav, which have been connected, they are actually, strictly speaking, not on DFC. They are connected till Palanpur, there is a station. DFC is there. After that, there is a feeder route for Mundra and Pipavav. So feeder route actually is not a DFC. It's an Indian Railways route. So while the connection with JNPA is different, JNPA, DFC will be going up to JNPA. So only freight trains, fast-moving container trains will be moving on this circuit. Whereas on that route, goods train, passenger train, everything moves on feeder route because it is Indian Railways route. So that is the difference.
Second thing is that, which is very important for you to understand, is that the 25-ton axle load wagon, that is high-capacity wagons that we are procuring, BLCS and BLSS, these are the two wagons, type of wagons, which are having a 25-ton axle load. That means they can carry a payload of 80 tons. So that cannot move on Indian Railways route, and it cannot have a payload of 80 tons. So that restriction is there. Whereas on DFC, an 80-ton payload can move. So it will improve the double stacking. If I can carry more load on that wagon on DFC because JNPA is pure DFC, there is no feeder route. So that advantage will be the second advantage. So these two advantages will see a distinct shift of traffic from road to rail.
Okay. Lastly, which quarter should we see the impact of DFC come through for us?
Sir, well, it will be starting from the next financial year. So I'm not an astrologer. I cannot predict that which quarter you will see the impact. But definitely from Q1 of next FY, we should start seeing some difference.
Fair point. Thank you so much for taking those questions.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of [Jainam Shah] from Equirus Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. I also just wanted one clarification. The volume growth guidance that we have given for the five-year timeline, four-year timeline, is it on the?
Three.
Handling part or is it on the originating part?
I have given only for three years' time, and I have given.
Three years' time.
If you have listened carefully, first is 10 million TEUs, which is on handling throughput. Second is 75 million tons, which is on cargo movement, containerized cargo. Third is on INR 15,000 crore, which is on top line of revenue.
Got it. Sir, if you can just provide me the originating volume for this particular quarter.
For this particular quarter, Q3?
Yeah. For EXIM and domestic.
Okay. Originating volume for this quarter is EXIM 564,324 TUs, domestic 120,817 TUs, and total is 685,141 TUs.
Sir, just wanted to understand one thing. As you are highlighting clearly that we should be looking at the originating volume and Net Ton Kilometers for revenue part and all those things, why we are not publishing the originating kilometers in the press release after the quarter ends and why we are only focusing on the handling volumes? Because whenever we are asking the question on the realization, the first point is always on the, that we should be looking at the originating volume. Then why we are shying away in giving the originating volume growth? And of course, on the originating volume growth, what could be the market share that we have witnessed over nine months and for this particular quarter?
Okay, we will. I have noted your request. We will see.
Yeah. Sir, what could be the market share for this particular quarter and for the nine months at the all-India level?
I don't have market share with me right now for this particular quarter. For nine-month period, I can give you the market share. For EXIM, it is 53.8%, and Domestic, it is 55.88%. Total is 54.35%.
What could be the comparison for last nine months?
Last nine months?
Nine months of FY2025. Yeah. Nine months of FY 2025.
FY 2025. Yes. EXIM, it is 55.28%. Domestic, 58.03%. Total is 56.05%.
Yeah. So sir, my question would be on this, that of course we are near to our target in terms of EXIM volume guidance. We are a little bit away from our domestic volume guidance, and there have been reasons. But while we are not taking any major steps to make sure that our market share doesn't fall, we were at 75% a few years, 10 years, 15 years back. Now we are at 53%, 54%. So what kind of things which has happened over the last decade which has resulted in this kind of market share dip for us? And what kind of market share we are expecting with this 15, this kind of 15,000 revenue that we are expecting? Our market share is constant in that case. We are increasing it, or we are thinking that it might reduce further from here on?
See, fall in market share in every conference, I am giving you the details. Reasons are pretty obvious. We are not picking up the low-margin business because we believe in giving good service to our customers while retaining our margins. That is the primary reason to arrest this decline in market share and to increase our market share. Our company has taken a lot of steps, like we are focusing on multimodal logistics parks. We are focusing on first-mile, last-mile transportation. So the projection that I have given for FY 2029 definitely is going to increase our market share and take it between 65%-70%.
Got it. Sir, if you sir, if the comment of us is that we are not taking low-margin contracts in this time, but if we see our margin pre-COVID, it used to be 25%-26%, excluding, you can say, other income part. Whereas as of now, it is ranging in between 20%-22%. Of course, there has been an impact of LLF. But apart from that, despite having Western DFC getting operational to a larger extent, we are doing double stacking on all these parts. We are doing so much of CapEx. Our margin has really not improved. Of course, our revenue growth has been slow. But on the margin part also, if you are now taking low-margin contract, there has to be some, you can say, compensatory impact on the margin, but which has not been reflective over the last so many quarters.
See, if you compare pre-COVID and, because there was a change in LLF payment to Railways.
Yeah, LLF also, of course. Excluding LLF also, there has been a bit of a dip in the margin.
Yeah. Yes. 4 x it increased from INR 100 crore to INR 400 crore.
INR 400 crore.
As far as the EBITDA margins are concerned, I have the numbers with me. For Q3 of this financial year, we have achieved EBITDA margin of INR 601 crore, if you take other income also, which is 25.1%. And last Q3, last financial year, it was 24.2%. So there has there has been an improvement of around 100 basis points in I don't know from where you are getting the numbers. It is, there is an improvement of margin. Similarly, for the period ending this financial year, this December, we are having a margin of INR 1,785.8 crore, which is 25.2%. And last financial year, it was INR 1,753.7 crore, which is 25.4%. So it is percent-wise, it is exactly the same, whereas money-wise, it has increased. So in fact, we have improved our margins. You please correct yourself.
Sir, from the English point of view, we don't take other income into the margin part. If we exclude the other income, our margin was 22.2%. Whereas this time, it's 22%. If we are not.
I will request you to discuss it separately.
Sure.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sumit Kishore from Axis Securities. Please go ahead.
Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, we have been talking about bulk cement in tank containers for quite some time now. So what is the total number of tank containers that we have presently? And what do you expect by the end of the financial year? And if you were to utilize those tank containers, you know, reasonably well, what kind of volumes would you be able to handle in a quarter? That's my first question.
See, now, we have, as of now, 300 tank containers of our own ownership. Apart from that, one of our customers has also procured 200 tank containers for which we have signed an agreement, and he is using our services. So if we add these two numbers, 500 tank containers are already there in our circuit, of bulk cement by tank containers. Now, we are getting 100 containers, around one rake every month. So we expect that by the end of financial year, one rake in February, one rake in March, 200 more containers we will get. And after that, every month, we will be getting 100 containers. So, it depends on the actually, the lead, like, it depends the lead is between 700 km-1,000 km from origin point to destination point. And, turnaround, we are now improving with every movement because it's a new product.
In de-stuffing, at some places, some time is being taken. We are in touch with our customers. We are improving that. We hope that very good impact will be visible in Q1 of next financial year.
So sir, what I'm trying to say if you quantify this, let us say you have 4 rakes also, and those rakes make, let us say, for argument's sake, 10 trips. I mean, we are still talking about what, you know, 4 into 10 into say 2,300 containers. So, that would be how much, as a percentage of your existing quarterly volumes in domestic? Is it going to make a meaningful difference when you are doing already something like, you know, 350,000+ TEUs in a quarter in domestic?
At this moment of time, I don't have the numbers with me. I will provide you later on.
Sure. Sir, my second question is you mentioned in response to the first question that a net ton kilometer would be the right parameter. Could you provide us some sense of what have you done in the nine-month FY 2026 period, in net ton kilometer terms in EXIM and domestic? And please provide this on a recurring basis so that we can analyze your company properly.
I have noted your request. We will definitely act on that.
And the last question is that of the 15%, and you've given a guidance of 20% on full year for domestic. The first nine months is 13%. What is so extraordinary that is going to happen in the fourth quarter that you will get to 20% growth? It will imply a very high growth for the fourth quarter. And, and finally, on volumes, on the 15% guidance for EXIM, and 20% for domestic over the next three years, for EXIM in particular, how much is the dividend you are expecting because of DFC commissioning? If you were to segregate the benefit of DFC in that 15% CAGR, I would like to understand how much is going to be just DFC commissioning up to JNPT. Thank you.
See, as far as the first question is concerned, in domestic, we are getting good loading now in all the factors, like cement is there and tiles are there and other merchandise is there. So based on that, we are quite optimistic of achieving the target that we gave at the start of financial year. Now, as far as the EXIM 15, more than 15% growth is there. We have the numbers with us of our different, you know, parameters that I told you. But at this stage, we cannot disclose those numbers to you.
Sure. Thank you and wish you all the best.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Priyankar Biswas from JM Financial.
Thanks, sir, for the opportunity. Am I audible? Hello.
Yes, yes. You are audible.
Yes, yes. Thank you, sir. What I would like to ask more about the long-term guidance. So you said 10 million TEUs on handling, this what we should expect in, let's say, FY 2029. Now, can we get a similar assessment, like, in that, should we assume that the originating also grows at the same level, or should we assume, like, the originating grows at a lower level? Like, what is your underlying assumption for it?
See, originating definitely will grow. Then only we will get more handling volumes. Originating will grow at the same levels, or would it be somewhere lower or higher? I try to assess that. It will be on the similar lines, of course.
Okay. Sir, similarly, like, I like the leads, because, as you rightly said, NTKM should be the parameter we should watch at. So in that, what you are building, is there a lead improvement? Because, let's say we are connecting to JNPT, and consequently, the leads improve. Or, are we saying this INR 150 billion revenue based on a leads which is similar to today's level? So trying to assess that as well.
See, definitely there will be improvement in leads because JNPT, as I mentioned in my earlier answer, is 1,500 km from NCR to JNPT. So in EXIM, the average lead in this financial year till now has been 693 km. So if we get a lot of business on 1,500 km, definitely it will have a positive impact on lead. So lead will definitely improve.
So, can the lead be something like 800 km odd or something like, based on, like, let's say, the increased JNPT, that is how, let's say, the mix improves? Would it be a right assessment?
I will not be making any speculation at this moment. We all will be present, so we can see what is the lead that we achieve. It will gradually increase.
Sir, if I can just squeeze one more question in, while you gave the movement of market shares in the key ports that is there, would you kindly share the rail coefficient in each of these ports and what it was, let's say, for the nine-month period last year? That will help.
Yes, I can tell you for three ports, JNPT, it is 15.57% in this FY. Last year, it was 15.7%. In Mundra Port, last year, it was 23.9%. This year, it is 24.5%. In Pipavav Port, last year, it was 57.7%. This year, it is 57%. Rail coefficient.
Sir, would you be able to provide, like, since you gave the market share movements, what it would be in absolute terms, like, let's say, JNPT, Mundra, and Pipavav? That's my last question.
JNPT, last year, it was 58% market share of CONCOR. This year, it is 60%. Mundra, last year, it was 38%. This year, it is 36%. Pipavav, last year, it was 48%. This year, it is 49%.
Thank you so much, sir. I wish you all the best.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mukesh Saraf from Avendus Sp ark. Please go ahead.
Yes, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. My first question is on the JNPT connectivity of DFC. Currently, could you give us some sense on the opportunity size, say, either in tonnage or in number of containers, or number of, you know, container equivalents, basically, on the shipment that's happening by road, this light cargo that you mentioned between, say, the Northern Hinterland and JNPT, which eventually can shift to rail?
See, that is a market intelligence information that I cannot share on this platform.
Just the opportunity size. I mean, the reason I'm asking this question is there was an understanding that a lot of the cargo has already moved to the ports in Gujarat. And, secondly, a lot of JNPT, what is catering to now is more Central India and, and maybe Andhra Pradesh, that kind of a, of a market. So just trying to assess, is there a large market from the Northern Hinterland to JNPT, which is moving by road, because all these years, this is what we have been understanding, that that cargo has already shifted to other ports?
See, whatever you have mentioned, is partially correct. It has shifted. It has shifted, but now it can come back also if there is efficiency in movement. And shipping is a, ever-changing process. And if you see, suppose a ship calls at JNPT first, and in 5 days, 3 days, it goes to Mundra. And in those 3 days, the cargo already comes to NCR. So as a consignee, what will you prefer? What will be your preference?
Understood.
Don't you prefer that before the ship goes to Mundra, my container comes to my factory?
Sure.
So those efficiencies, if those efficiencies are available, a lot of cargo can shift back to JNPT. I am telling you, the situation which can happen.
Mm-hmm. Sure. Sure. Got it. And also, we have Varnama as a large transshipment hub where, you know, we are taking a lot of the double-stacking cargo as close as possible to JNPT. So, in some form, aren't we already catering to that possible demand that will come up because of the DFC connectivity?
See, Varnama, we started giving facility to our double-stack to our NCR customers. But Varnama, we cannot run assured transit time train. Assured transit time train we can run only to JNPT because double-stacking and then, you know, changing it to single-stack, assured transit we cannot give to our customers. That we can give only if we have direct connectivity to JNPT.
Got it. Got it. And just lastly, because you had kind of outlined the CapEx plan going up, would you be able to give some breakup of how much on rolling stock and how much on land for MMLPs?
See, why do you want that? Don't give such information.
Just help us understand the gestation period, sir. I mean, if there's a lot of investment on land, probably the benefits of that would be slightly backing you. So just want to understand that.
See, infrastructure projects are long gestation period projects. You cannot expect, suppose I created MMLP today, from tomorrow I will start getting profits. So it takes some time.
Right.
Normally, we share such information.
Got it. Got it. Thank you. Thanks a lot for this. I'll get back to you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is from the line of Sandesh Shetty from HSBC. Please go ahead.
Hello. Am I audible?
Yes.
Yes, please.
Hello. Good afternoon, sir. Sir, my first question is on the growth guidance that you have given. Can you outline, like, the key factors driving both EXIM and Domestic? That would be first question.
See, Mr. Shetty, already I told in detail the growth drivers when I was mentioning the guidance. But for your benefit, I will again repeat it.
Thank you, sir.
For EXIM, growth driving factors will be the commissioning of Western DFC up to JNPT by March 2026, and assured transit time train services between JNPA and NCR that we will be running. Third is the double-stack trains to Jodhpur. We will be bringing Jodhpur on double-stack map by this in this financial year only. Fourth is double-stack trains to Ahmedabad area, where we are commissioning a terminal which will be able to handle double-stack trains. Next is the very good traffic we are hoping from our new terminals, Jajpur, Kadakola, and Mandalgarh, and Paradeep also, which we have commissioned recently. We have got customs notification for a few of them. So we will get good EXIM business at these terminals. Then there is a very good potential for Nepal traffic that we will be getting.
That already we are getting a good business for Nepal from Visakhapatnam and some from Kolkata. So we are going to start facility at Raxaul very soon and Biratnagar also. Customs has issued a notification, and we are going to generate good business for Nepal at all the three places. Then, I told that we are having a tie-up with all major shipping lines like MSC, Maersk, CMA, Hapag-Lloyd, etc. Then shipping sector, where already we have started sending our containers to Middle East and Far East also, very soon we are going to start. We will consolidate these two sectors, which are going to give us good business, good volumes, and good profit also. These are the main factors which will drive the growth in EXIM.
As far as domestic is concerned, the primary will be the bulk cement and tank containers, for which we have already signed agreement with big players like UltraTech Cement, Adani Cement, My Home Cement, and JK, apart from a few others. Then we have tied up with big corporate customers like Vedanta, Jindal, Tata, and Gas Authority and Petronet. We are going to sign agreements. So these will be the additional growth drivers, and normal business will continue. So all these factors will give a growth of more than 20% in domestic. I hope you are satisfied.
Yes, sir. Yes, yes. Thank you, sir, for the detailed answer. Sir, my second and last question is, sir, even though there is improvement in EBITDA margin, if we see the segmental margins, there has been decline both in EXIM and domestic. Is it just attributed to depreciation, or is there some other factor as well? That would be my last question. Thank you.
Yeah, actually, primary reason is depreciation only. And one more thing is the land license fee that I mentioned in my opening remarks. In previous years, we were, we had done some reversals and some adjustments. And whatever land license fee we have shown this year is actual. Normally, you may be observing that we pay around INR 450 crore to railways. So up to Q3, already we have paid INR 327 crore, which is in line with those calculations.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Ankita Shah from Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Hi. Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, this is on the guidance. So in case assume a risk of, you know, DFC getting delayed further, then in that scenario, how much the growth guidance of 15% growth on the EXIM side and, you know, similarly on growth on the domestic side, how much would that get lower in case if there is further delay in DFC that could have that's the contingency risk that I was looking at?
See, actually, I have spoken to very senior officers of DFC myself now, and they have assured me maybe before 31st March, maybe by February, they will be able to commission connection to JNPA. So I have no reasons to disbelieve that it will be extended beyond 31st March. I am very, very confident, and it will be a pleasant surprise to us also and to the trade also that DFC is commissioned before 31st March.
Okay. The increase in CapEx number that you've mentioned from INR 860 crore to INR 1,000 crore, this is for FY 2026 or from 2027 onwards?
It is for FY 2026 that BOD has yesterday revised the by 23% increase they have approved. For FY 2027, I will be telling about CapEx in my conference call at the end of Q4 results.
What is this incremental amount for going towards?
This is primarily, yeah, primarily for containers and rolling stock.
Okay. And sir, we were also planning increase in terminals. I think 10 new terminals we were planning to add this year. So are we on track for that?
Yes, yes. We are on track. Already we have commissioned two terminals in this financial year, and more terminals we are going to commission. And they are in advanced stage. We are quite on track.
Okay. So this 10 will come over a period of time, not in FY 2026 itself?
Yes, yes. They will come over a period of time. Not, not all in FY 2026.
Okay. [Foreign language] , sir. Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to all participants, you may press star and one to ask a question. As there are no further questions from the participants, I now hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Over to you, sir.
So, I don't have much to tell. Already I have told you, the company is standing on very strong fundamentals, and we are, increasing our CapEx spend, creating more and more infrastructure. So we are quite confident that, we are going to be on a very high growth path from now onwards, and we can see the results in a positive manner very soon. Thank you.
Thank you. On behalf of DAM Capital Advisors Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines.