RailTel Scores Massive Deal with Northern Railways

The RailTel Corporation of India share price saw an increase in early trading on September 5, following the news of a new contract valued at ₹10.92 crore.

As of 09:56 am IST, RailTel's stock was trading at ₹497.00 on the BSE, a rise of ₹2.70 or 0.55%.
This contract, awarded by Northern Railways, pertains to a railway telecom project with a completion deadline of September 5, 2025.

In addition to this, RailTel was granted 'Navratna' status by the Ministry of Finance on August 30. This prestigious designation, reserved for well-performing government-owned enterprises, grants the company greater operational autonomy. Specifically, Navratna companies can make investments up to ₹1,000 crore without requiring prior government approval, with flexibility in allocating up to 15% of individual projects or 30% of their annual net worth, within the ₹1,000 crore limit.

Earlier in August, RailTel also secured a major work order worth ₹52.66 crore from the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board. This project aims to bolster security and operational efficiency during written exams and other recruitment procedures by implementing live CCTV surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric verification, and advanced digital recognition technologies.

To summarize, RailTel Corporation of India shares surged over 5% on Monday after being awarded Navratna status by the Modi government. The stock rose 5.05% to ₹515.60, compared to its previous close of ₹490.80 on the BSE. The company’s market capitalization increased to ₹16,178 crore, with 5.34 lakh shares trading, generating a turnover of ₹27.17 crore.

This stock has been a strong performer, gaining 107% in the past year and 399% over the past two years. It reached a 52-week low of ₹200.30 on October 9, 2023, and hit an all-time high of ₹618 on July 12, 2024.
RailTel’s one-year beta stands at 1.3, indicating high volatility.

On the financial front, RailTel reported a 25.2% year-on-year increase in net profit, reaching ₹48.7 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2024, compared to ₹38.9 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations grew by 19.4%, reaching ₹558.1 crore, up from ₹467.6 crore in the previous fiscal period. Additionally, EBITDA rose by 14.8% to ₹103.4 crore compared to ₹90.1 crore in the prior year.

RailTel Corporation, a Navratna PSU, is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in India, boasting a nationwide optic fiber network along railway tracks. The company's operations include telecom services and project-based services.