CFS (Container Freight Station): typically located near ports, handles less-than-container-load (LCL) cargo.

“Let me start with the all cargo terminals business. That's where we have all our container freight stations and ICDs. So primarily in that business we are the largest CFS operator in the country and the business has been doing good.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

This signals the company’s intention to scale operations at key port locations on both coasts, improving its logistics footprint.

“What we intend to do is we intend to add capacity in JNPT(Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Navi Mumbai) in Chennai and we have been speaking about an ICD now.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

This shows the company is exploring internal funding routes and that the promoters are investing more, signaling confidence in the business. However, the final step depends on shareholder consent,

“In terms of funding we believe there are multiple opportunities to begin with and the board has recently approved an issuance of preferential allotment to the promoter group which has been concluded and is now subject to the shareholders approval.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

The company is taking a flexible, cost-optimized approach by combining lease-based (asset-light) models with selective ownership (asset-heavy) with an average plan of 300crores.This helps manage risk while still enabling significant growth, especially at key locations like JNPT and Chennai.

“So it would be a combination of asset light and asset heavy in the sense that you know we would try to get into some of the operating leases like in JNPT we are looking at expanding capacity by almost 30% with the addition of new facility but that will be on an asset light model in Chennai we are evaluating both models right now in ICD there'll be some capex required so we estimate that the total capex requirement over the next 3 years could range anywhere from about 150-200 crores to about 350 crores to 400 crores depending on the final you know dynamics of our strategy.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

The company is targeting strong, sustainable growth backed by strategic expansion. The fact that returns exceed the cost of capital indicates that the new investments are expected to be value-accretive and efficient in terms of capital usage.

“I would say you know with the new capacity addition we believe that over the next 3 to four years there should be an opportunity for the company would grow in the range of 15 to 20%of a compounded annual growth rate that's the broad target around which it is being planned and in terms of return on capital employed as well as for the new projects these are all significantly higher than our weighted average cost of capital.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

The core business remains healthy, with consistent positive cash flows. Any dip in profit is mainly due to accounting adjustments, not operational weakness.

“The operating cash flows had remained positive for the last several quarters. There could have been, you know, one of depreciation line items that you were possibly referring to on goodwill depreciation or around the brand etc. on some past acquisitions which potentially leads to you know a decline on the bottom line. But from a business standpoint, the operating cashflows have remained steady and consistently positive over the last many quarters and will continue to remain positive and also grow from here.”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director

The slow start was expected due to seasonal and tariff-related factors. Trade activity is now recovering, with positive signs emerging in July, suggesting a return to normalcy and potential growth ahead.

“We have not seen any momentum until the June quarter. It is also very customary for May and June”

“months to be low and typically is the month of July from which the trade pickup happens globally. This time there was a bit of a confusion around the tariffs and that led to volatility within the months of April and May. Now that we are almost into the third week of July, we are seeing the momentum come in on international trade..”

— Ravi Jakhar, Group Director