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Informist, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026

 

By Afra Abubacker

 

NEW DELHI - Container Corp. of India Ltd. is expected to report a very modest on-year rise in its bottom line for the December quarter as weak international trade volumes and pressure on margins are likely to partly offset the benefit from growth in domestic volumes, according to analysts. 

 

The state-owned logistics major's standalone net profit for the December quarter is expected to rise 3% on year but decline over 6% sequentially to INR 3.53 billion, according to the average of estimates from five brokerages. The highest net profit estimate is INR 3.95 billion by Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd. and the lowest is INR 3.35 billion by Kotak Securities Ltd.

 

The company's standalone revenue for the reporting quarter is likely to rise almost 8% on year and 1% on quarter to INR 23.73 billion, according to the average of estimates. The highest revenue estimate is INR 24.14 billion by Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. on the back of healthy volumes and the lowest is INR 22.92 billion by JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. due to lower volumes. 

 

Nuvama estimates the company's market share to remain stable on year and said the low base is likely to support earnings optically in the reporting quarter.

 

JM Financial said its analysis of rail container volumes at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust suggests the rail coefficient at the port declined on year in the December quarter. In contrast, Motilal Oswal Financial Services and Nuvama expect total container volumes to rise over 10% on year, broadly in line with Indian Railways' overall freight volumes. Motilal Oswal expects a 15% on-year rise in domestic volumes.

 

The company handled a total volume of 1.42 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the December quarter, up 10.8% on year, according to an exchange filing on Jan. 12. The public-sector company's domestic volume rose over 13% on year to 351,121 twenty-foot equivalent units in Oct-Dec, while its export and import volume rose almost 10% to 1.07 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the quarter. 

 

In Apr-Dec, CONCOR handled a total volume of 4.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units, up 10.9% on year. Its domestic volume rose over 13% on year to 1.01 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the nine-month period, while the export and import volume grew over 10% to 3.14 million twenty-foot equivalent units.

 

On Wednesday, shares of the company ended at INR 496.35 on the National Stock Exchange, up 2.3% from the previous close. The company's shares have fallen over 6% since it detailed its September quarter results.

 

The company will announce its December quarter earnings Thursday. Analysts will track management commentary on global trade flows, progress on commissioning of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor--which connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai--by March, and clarity on the government's divestment plans.

 

Of the four brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, two have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 676. This is over 40% higher than the current market price. One brokerage has a 'hold' recommendation and another has a 'sell' recommendation on the stock at INR 600 and INR 520, respectively.

 

Following are the Oct-Dec earnings estimates for Container Corp. of India from five brokerages in descending order by the estimate of net profit in INR billion:

 

Brokerages	Net Sales	Net Profit	EBITDA
Elara Securities (India) Pvt Ltd	23.73	3.95	5.83
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd	23.75	3.52	5.42
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd	24.14	3.49	5.28
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd	22.92	3.37	5.13
Kotak Securities Ltd	24.13	3.35	5.16
Average	23.73	3.53	5.36

 

End

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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