Bharti Airtel Ltd.
NSE: BHARTIARTL
Communication Services · Telecom Services
Research updated
NSE: RAILTELCommunication ServicesTelecom Services
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RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. is a Navratna public sector enterprise that provides telecom infrastructure, broadband connectivity, and integrated ICT services across India. The company operates one of the country’s largest neutral optic fiber networks, laid along railway corridors, and supports a wide range of services including leased lines, internet connectivity, VPN solutions, data center services, cloud services, and managed network operations. RailTel also delivers project-based IT and telecom solutions for government institutions, enterprises, and railway systems, alongside passenger-facing digital services such as Wi‑Fi at stations. With its focus on essential communications infrastructure and digital public services, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. plays an important role in supporting enterprise connectivity, public-sector digitalization, and nationwide telecommunications access.
Public research · Report of
RailTel (NSE: RAILTEL), Enterprise telecom infrastructure and government ICT integration: revenue of ₹4,277 crore in FY26 (+23.0% on FY25), an EBITDA margin of 14.9%, net profit of ₹346.3 crore and net cash of ₹699.9 crore.
RailTel earns recurring enterprise connectivity, broadband and data-centre revenue over railway right-of-way infrastructure, alongside government ICT and railway integration projects. Project execution drives top-line growth but carries lower margins than telecom services. The business has no loan borrowings; lease obligations and government receivable collection matter for equity cash flow.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | RailTel Corporation of India Limited |
| Exchange and ticker | NSE: RAILTEL; BSE: 543265 |
| ISIN | INE0DD101019 |
| CIN | L64202DL2000GOI107905 |
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Enterprise telecom infrastructure and government ICT integration |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
| Fiscal year end | March |
| Reporting basis and unit | standalone, in ₹ crore |
| Auditor | Lunawat & Co. |
| Market capitalisation | ₹7,349 crore (27 Oct 2026) |
| Shares outstanding | 32.09 crore shares (FY26) |
| Price | ₹224.0 (close, 27 Oct 2026) |
| 52-week range | ₹221.5 - ₹391.0 (to 27 Oct 2026) |
| Website | https://www.railtel.in |
Parent: Government of India, Ministry of Railways.
No subsidiary is recorded.
No subsidiaries in FY26 annual report.
| Shareholding (% of shares) | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promoter | 72.84% | 72.84% | 72.84% | 72.84% |
| Promoter holding pledged | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Foreign institutions | 3.68% | 3.72% | 3.98% | 3.98% |
| Domestic institutions | 0.84% | 0.99% | 0.99% | 1.03% |
| of which mutual funds | 0.30% | 0.34% | 0.29% | 0.31% |
| Retail | 22.63% | 22.45% | 22.19% | 19.21% |
| Other | 2.94% |
The promoter holding pledged is a share of the promoter's own holding.
RailTel is the Ministry of Railways-controlled telecom and ICT execution company, earning Telecom Services revenue over its railway right-of-way infrastructure and Project Work Services revenue from government and railway ICT integration. Project services are larger but structurally lower margin; Telecom Services has the higher segment contribution. The listed company has no subsidiaries, so standalone statements represent the operating business.
| Segment | revenue, FY26 (₹ crore) | Share | segment result, FY26 (₹ crore) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telecom Services | 1,501 | 35.1% | 400.3 | 78.5% |
| Project Work Services | 2,777 | 64.9% | 109.5 | 21.5% |
Segments as the company reports them (standalone); each share is of the segments' sum.
| Peer | Why the dossier compares them |
|---|---|
| Tata Communications (TATACOMM) | Enterprise connectivity and data services; global mix differs. |
| Bharti Airtel (BHARTIARTL) | Enterprise telecom reference; consumer wireless dominates. |
| HFCL (HFCL) | Telecom equipment and ICT project execution. |
| ITI (ITI) | Government telecom projects; weaker operating comparability. |
| Sterlite Technologies (STLTECH) | Optical infrastructure and execution; manufacturing mix differs. |
| Tejas Networks (TEJASNET) | Telecom equipment and government procurement; loss-making reference. |
| Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) | Railway execution and government customer reference. |
| IRCON International (IRCON) | Railway EPC execution and working-capital reference. |
| Profit and loss (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 1,543 | 1,951 | 2,568 | 3,478 | 4,277 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 958.9 | 1,343 | 1,859 | 2,690 | 3,363 |
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | -23.0 | 31.1 | 53.5 | 29.5 | 48.6 |
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 448.3 | 426.4 | 495.1 | 602.5 | 689.6 |
| Operating EBIT excluding other income and exceptional items | 288.7 | 264.0 | 306.2 | 353.1 | 447.6 |
| Finance costs | 5.71 | 3.11 | 3.78 | ||
| Profit before tax | 280.6 | 253.9 | 328.1 | 401.8 | 469.6 |
| Total tax expense | 71.7 | 65.7 | 81.9 | 102.0 | 123.3 |
| Profit for the year | 208.9 | 188.3 | 246.2 | 299.8 | 346.3 |
| Basic & diluted earnings per equity share (₹) | 6.51 | 5.87 | 7.67 | 9.34 | 10.79 |
| Direct operating expenses | 1,859 | 2,690 | 3,363 | ||
| Employee benefits expenses | 204.5 | 209.7 | 215.7 | ||
| Other expenses | 40.8 | 43.9 | 62.2 | ||
| Other income | 54.4 | 73.5 | 50.2 | ||
| Depreciation, amortisation & impairment expense | 157.7 | 180.4 | 188.9 | ||
| Exceptional items (expense positive) | 26.7 | 21.7 | 24.4 | ||
| Operating EBITDA excluding other income | 463.9 | 533.5 | 636.5 | ||
| Basic EPS (₹) | 7.67 | 9.34 | 10.79 |
| Balance sheet (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total equity | 1,527 | 1,649 | 1,827 | 2,000 | 2,262 |
| Interest-bearing debt including lease liabilities | 31.5 | 41.8 | 45.6 | 44.5 | 63.7 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 187.1 | 187.8 | 247.7 | 308.0 | 397.5 |
| Trade receivables | 684.8 | 1,048 | 1,268 | 1,581 | 2,053 |
| Inventories | 0.94 | 0.92 | 3.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Trade payables | 770.5 | 1,430 | 1,674 | ||
| Net property, plant and equipment | 740.3 | 898.6 | 1,006 | ||
| Capital work in progress | 129.6 | 123.7 | 81.4 | ||
| Total assets | 2,858 | 3,349 | 4,050 | 5,161 | 5,830 |
| Free term deposits original maturity 3-12 months | 235.3 | 183.6 | 243.0 | ||
| Free term deposits residual maturity over 12 months | 362.0 | 77.7 | 0.00 | ||
| Free deposits original >12m residual <12m | 70.7 | 267.2 | 123.2 | ||
| Liquidity investments in mutual funds | 90.3 | 39.2 | 0.00 | ||
| Total unbilled revenue net of loss allowance | 233.8 | 814.4 | 898.0 | ||
| Ind AS115 contract-note unbilled revenue subset | 97.7 | 654.4 | 707.4 | ||
| Contract note reported aggregate including billed receivables | 1,112 | 2,025 | 2,320 | ||
| Lease-inclusive debt less unrestricted liquidity | -960.2 | -831.2 | -699.9 | ||
| Cash free deposits and liquidity mutual funds | 1,006 | 875.7 | 763.6 |
| Cash flow (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from operating activities after exceptional items | 556.3 | 255.3 | 316.5 | ||
| Free cash flow (vendor definition) * | 133.9 | 107.4 | 346.7 | -69.7 | 44.1 |
| Dividends paid (an outflow is negative) | -94.7 | -69.0 | -65.8 | -91.5 | -91.5 |
| Purchase of tangible & intangible assets including CWIP | -115.8 | -176.4 | -209.7 | -325.1 | -272.4 |
| Other reported lines (₹ crore) | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity shares outstanding | 32.09 | 32.09 | 32.09 | 32.09 | 32.09 |
| Gross trade receivables before ECL | 2,196 | ||||
| Gross trade receivables aged over one year | 626.2 | ||||
| Trade receivable ECL allowance | 142.6 | ||||
| Undiscounted lease maturities less than one year | 11.6 | ||||
| Undiscounted lease maturities one to five years | 45.0 |
| Quarterly profit and loss (₹ crore) | Q3FY25 | Q4FY25 | Q1FY26 | Q2FY26 | Q3FY26 | Q4FY26 | Q1FY27 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 767.6 | 1,308 | 743.8 | 951.4 | 913.5 | 1,669 | 893.3 | 1,146 |
| Cost of revenue (vendor classification) * | 577.4 | 1,074 | 553.2 | 708.3 | 1,377 | 689.2 | ||
| Other operating costs (vendor classification) * | 12.7 | 6.82 | 18.3 | 13.2 | -11.6 | 12.3 | ||
| EBITDA (vendor classification) * | 135.8 | 173.8 | 130.2 | 144.0 | 246.5 | 147.9 | ||
| EBIT * | 90.2 | 150.3 | 89.9 | 85.9 | 197.2 | 90.5 | ||
| Finance costs | 0.56 | 1.03 | 0.58 | 0.56 | 0.93 | 1.71 | 1.03 | 1.48 |
| Profit before tax | 89.7 | 151.2 | 89.3 | 105.3 | 85.0 | 190.0 | 89.4 | 92.3 |
| Total tax expense | 24.6 | 37.7 | 23.2 | 29.2 | 22.6 | 48.2 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| Profit for the period | 65.1 | 113.5 | 66.1 | 76.1 | 62.4 | 141.8 | 65.8 | 68.6 |
| Basic & diluted earnings per equity share (₹) | 2.03 | 3.53 | 2.06 | 2.37 | 1.94 | 4.42 | 2.05 | 2.14 |
| Direct project, access and DoT costs | 577.4 | 1,074 | 553.2 | 724.3 | 708.3 | 1,377 | 689.2 | 893.8 |
| Employee benefits expenses | 56.4 | 43.9 | 56.5 | 54.8 | 58.6 | 45.8 | 60.2 | 60.1 |
| Other expenses | 12.7 | 11.0 | 18.3 | 17.8 | 13.2 | 13.0 | 12.3 | 16.3 |
| Other income | 14.7 | 20.4 | 14.4 | 14.4 | 10.6 | 10.8 | 16.3 | 2.92 |
| Depreciation, amortisation & impairment expense | 43.2 | 59.8 | 43.7 | 46.9 | 48.9 | 49.4 | 50.4 | 53.0 |
| Exceptional items | 2.36 | -11.9 | -3.42 | 16.1 | 9.18 | 2.47 | 7.04 | 32.2 |
| EBITDA before other income | 121.2 | 179.6 | 115.9 | 154.5 | 133.4 | 232.7 | 131.6 | 176.0 |
| Basic EPS (₹) | 2.03 | 3.53 | 2.06 | 1.94 | 4.42 | 2.05 | 2.14 |
Standalone, as reported. Lines marked * are the market-data provider's figures; the rest are extracted from the company's filings or derived from them. n.d. not disclosed, n.r. not retrieved, n.a. not applicable.
| Metric | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 12.5% | 26.5% | 31.6% | 35.4% | 23.0% |
| EBITDA margin | 18.1% | 15.3% | 14.9% | ||
| Net margin | 13.5% | 9.6% | 9.6% | 8.6% | 8.1% |
| Return on equity | 14.2% | 11.9% | 14.2% | 15.7% | 16.3% |
| Return on capital employed | 19.2% | 16.3% | 17.2% | 18.0% | 20.5% |
| Return on assets | 7.5% | 6.1% | 6.7% | 6.5% | 6.3% |
| Net debt (₹ crore) | -960.2 | -831.2 | -699.9 | ||
| Net debt / EBITDA | -2.07x | -1.56x | -1.10x | ||
| Interest cover | 53.6x | 113.5x | 118.4x | ||
| Asset turnover | 0.55x | 0.63x | 0.69x | 0.76x | 0.78x |
| Receivable days | 162 | 196 | 180 | 166 | 175 |
| Inventory days (on revenue) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Payable days (on revenue) | 110 | 150 | 143 | ||
| Cash conversion | 2.26x | 0.85x | 0.91x | ||
| Capex intensity | 7.5% | 9.0% | 8.2% | 9.3% | 6.4% |
| Free cash flow (₹ crore) | 346.7 | -69.7 | 44.1 | ||
| Dividend payout | 45.3% | 36.7% | 26.7% | 30.5% | 26.4% |
| EPS, diluted (₹) | 6.51 | 5.87 | 7.67 | 9.34 | 10.79 |
| Book value per share (₹) | 47.57 | 51.38 | 56.93 | 62.31 | 70.47 |
Computed from the statements above:
Source: the company's filings and disclosures as extracted into Mool's company dossier (version 4, information to 27 Oct 2026); market data at the close of 27 Oct 2026. Every figure is read from the dossier's files or computed from them; the account of the business model is the analyst's, from the dossier's workings.
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Prices are the last close on the NSE, 26 Oct 2026. Research from Mool’s report of 27 Oct 2026; page updated 27 Oct 2026.
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