New Delhi, May 17 – RITES Ltd, the Navratna public sector transport and engineering consultancy firm, is poised for a robust financial performance in the coming years, buoyed by proactive export initiatives and a broad-based client diversification strategy.
Chairman and Managing Director Rahul Mithal highlighted that aggressive efforts to secure international rolling stock orders and diversify the Quality Assurance (QA) business have significantly bolstered the company's revenue outlook.
Q4 FY25 Performance: Revenue Declines, Profit Marginally Up
In the March quarter, RITES reported a 4.3 percent year-on-year decline in consolidated operating revenue at ₹615 crore, compared to ₹643 crore in the same period last year. However, net profit rose by 3.4 percent to ₹141 crore, reflecting cost efficiencies and a strategic focus on high-margin domestic consultancy projects.Export Revival and Rolling Stock Orders
RITES’ export business, which had faced a lull due to a lack of fresh orders from African and South Asian markets during and after the pandemic, witnessed a turnaround. The revival was marked by a ₹300 crore order from Mozambique for 10 locomotives, won via global competitive bidding — the first such win in three years.According to Mithal, RITES has secured at least one export order in every quarter of FY25, taking its export order book to ₹1,360 crore as of March 31, 2025. Major international orders include:
- Bangladesh: ₹900 crore for 200 passenger coaches
- Mozambique: ₹300 crore for 10 locomotives
- South Africa: Approximately ₹150 crore for nine locomotives across three contracts
Diversification of Quality Assurance Services
The QA segment faced challenges due to the Indian Railways’ new policy of selecting four QA service providers through an open tender — a move that affected RITES’ margins and volume. Competing entities included TuV India Pvt. Ltd, Bureau Veritas India Pvt. Ltd, and Intertek India Pvt. Ltd.In response, RITES diversified its QA portfolio into emerging and underpenetrated sectors such as solar energy, PM Vishwakarma Yojana, power transmission and distribution, Jal Jeevan Mission, public health engineering, vendor assessment via GeM, and Independent Safety Assessments — both domestic and international.
Domestic Focus and Record Order Book
Mithal emphasized that the company focused on executing high-margin domestic consultancy projects from the start of FY25. This approach helped limit the decline in operating revenue and profit.Additionally, a daily order acquisition strategy helped the company secure more than 500 orders worth ₹5,500 crore during the year. This aggressive push led RITES to close FY25 with an all-time high order book of ₹8,877 crore.
FY26 Outlook: Aiming for Record Revenue
Looking ahead, Mithal said the company is targeting an all-time high revenue in FY26 by continuing its dual strategy of improved execution and aggressive order acquisition.“We will maintain our strike rate of one order a day and aim to secure additional export contracts to strengthen our global presence,” he said.
With a diversified portfolio, a revitalized export pipeline, and a solid order book, RITES appears well-positioned for accelerated growth in the upcoming financial year.
