IRCTC plans to monetise rail ticketing data; stock jumps 5%

Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) rallied nearly 5% in intraday trade on Friday after the company floated a tender to monetise its passenger data bank to boost its revenue. IRCTC, the ticketing arm of the Indian Railways, plans to raise around ₹1,000 crore in revenue through the monetisation of its digital data assets. The state-owned company, which provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the Indian Railways, is the country's only railway ticketing platform and has a large bank of digital data related to both passenger services as well as freight services.

Last month, IRCTC floated an e-tender for the appointment of a consultant for data monetisation of the Indian Railway, inviting applications “to help in identification, design, and development and roll-out of data monetisation opportunities”.

“Indian Railways desires to monetise the data in customer/vendor applications and internal applications of Indian Railways…for generating revenues and also to enhance facilitation and further improve the services,” it said in the tender.

The exchange had sought a clarification from the company in this regard. IRCTC on Thursday clarified that “the company is in the nascent stage of floating the tender and calling bids from the eligible consultant aspirants”.

“Concrete outcome will be known only subsequent to the selection of suitable consultant and submission of its report on monetisation value and processes/methodologies,” it said, adding that no material impact can be ascertained at present.

IRCTC said, “As a commercial entity, the company explores the business opportunities for new areas. Like other business tenders, this tender has also been floated merely to appoint a consultant. The consultant will guide IRCTC and Indian Railways on monetisation activities and advise on the monetisation value of digital assets by observing various Acts or laws including lT Act 2000 and its amendments, User data privacy laws including GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and current 'Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 of lndia.”

On Friday, IRCTC shares opened marginally lower at ₹712, against the previous closing price of ₹713.05 on the BSE, and declined 2.15% to touch an intraday low of ₹697.75. Reversing opening losses, the stock gained as much as 4.85% to hit an intraday high of ₹747.65. There was a spurt in volume trade as 6.83 lakh shares changed hands over the counter as compared to the two-week average volume of 3.64 lakh stocks. The market capitalisation of the large-cap stock rose to ₹59,392 crore.

IRCTC shares have been gaining for the last four sessions and rose more than 11% during this period amid dividend payments. The company has fixed August 19, 2022, as the record date to finalise eligible shareholders for final dividend payment. In the June quarter earnings report, IRCTC announced to pay a final dividend of ₹1.50 per share for the financial year 2021-22, which amounts to 75% of the paid-up equity share capital of the company. This is in addition to the interim dividend of ₹2 per equity share announced in February 2022.

IRCTC stock has rallied 22% in the past month and over 36% in the last year. On the year-to-date (YTD) basis, the counter declined 11%.