In FY25, we hope to continue with over 30% revenue growth. 18% EBITDA margin: RailTel CMD

Sanjai Kumar, CMD, RailTel, says LTE and Kavach put together, there is an opportunity of Rs 35,000 crore and we expect to get orders worth Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. Kumar also says:. “When we talk of volumes in terms of capacities, we are growing, but this year we have already planned some strategies and we are hopeful of at least double digit growth. We are trying to get 10% plus this year.”

Congratulations,you have surpassed your FY24 growth guidance by a big margin. What targets have you set for the company for FY25 and what kind of revenue growth are you expecting? Also, what margins do you expect in FY25?
Sanjai Kumar: Overall, we talk of annual performance. We are satisfied with the performance. We have grown by 31%. In 2024-25, we hope to continue with the same growth guidance in terms of revenue. It will be around 30%. The EBITDA margin, which was 18% last year, is expected to continue this year as well.

What is the current order book and what kind of inflows do you envisage for FY25?
Sanjai Kumar: Right now, we have a Rs 4,700-crore order book and we expect to have around Rs 4,000 crore new orders to be delivered in the next four to five years. We will do everything to get a good orders.

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For the third consecutive quarter, the telecom business EBIT has been above the 20% mark. What led to that and going forward, can it sustain above the 20% mark? Also, the Indian Railways is looking to deploy LTE. What has been the progress so far? What kind of orders have come your way?
Sanjai Kumar: Yes, I believe so. Secondly, if we talk of LTE, yes, POC preparations are on, because we are dependent on many factors for POC, we are already progressing in that. I cannot say right now that any significant progress has been made, but whenever it is there, we will share with you. As for LTE tenders, already two tenders were carried out by the railways of roughly Rs 1700-1800 crore value. One is Rs 800 plus and the other is Rs 900 plus crores. We are working to participate in these tenders and we are hopeful of getting at least one order. But that depends on competition and other factors.

If we talk of the associated product, which is Kavach, we have already signed an MOU with the OEM. It was expected and this question was asked many times earlier also. Now we have come out with our partner and have signed an MOU. We are sure that we will do it in the Kavach segment also.

You Might Also Like:In the Kavach segment, are you expecting orders to pick up anytime soon?
Sanjai Kumar: See, tenders have not yet come out, but we are expecting that in the next two to three months, tenders should be out by railways and we will participate in those tenders.

What kind of order opportunity do you envisage for Kavach?
Sanjai Kumar: In the Kavach segment, we are expecting roughly Rs 3,000-4,000 crore overall orders over the next four to five years.