Logistics shares gain; Gateway Distriparks zooms 55% in 5 days

Blue Dart Express surged 6 per cent and hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 4,457, while Gati soared 7 per cent to Rs 96, and was trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 107 on the BSE

Shares of logistics companies were in focus at the bourses on Monday, with Gateway Distriparks rallying up to 15 per cent and hitting a fresh 52-week high of Rs 180 in intra-day deals in an otherwise subdued market. The stock has zoomed 55 per cent in the past five trading days, after reporting strong operational performance for the December 2020 quarter (Q3FY21).

Among othre stocks, Blue Dart Express, too, hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 4,457, surging 6 per cent on the BSE in intra-day trade today. Gati soared 7 per cent to Rs 96, and was trading close to its 52-week high of Rs 107, touched on December 31, 2020.

In Q3FY21, Gateway Distripark’s consolidated net profit nearly doubled to Rs 32.62 crore, led by strong operating performance. The company, a leading integrated inter-modal logistics facilitator, had posted a profit of Rs 16.39 crore in the year-ago quarter. The company’s Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margins improved 520 basis points (bps) to 26.9 per cent from 21.7 per cent in Q3FY20.

The management said the revival in the EXIM trade has been much faster than anticipated. In Q3FY21, the company witnessed a sharp recovery in its overall volumes for both container freight station (CFS) and rail container business. The improvement in volumes has been seen sequentially every month since the beginning of October 2020. With most lead industry indicators pointing to a strong demand revival, the management anticipates continuous month-on-month momentum in the growth of volumes for foreseeable future.

With the 306 km long stretch from Rewari to Madar being inaugurated in January 2021, the company expects a boost in volumes. The management expects rail throughput of 25k TEU/month vs around 21k currently. It also expects the 342-km stretch of Madar-Palanpur to commence by September 2021. It will facilitate market share shift towards the rail as the journey time will be reduced from around 70 hours to below 40 hours. Further, shipping fleets will drive the shift to rail, and manufacturers will move the business towards the hinterland based ICDs, analysts at HDFC Securities said in result update.