Logistics firm TCI to beef up South Asia ops as trade grows

The move is part of company’s plan to become a major logistics player in the South Asian region that is witnessing booming trade and, with it, the potential for greater movement of goods.

“Cross-border movement of across SAARC region is big area of growth for us because we see that government is also focusing on the region to bolster trade and invest in projects. We already have our companies in Nepal and Bangladesh, and we are now trying to open office in Sri Lanka. More opportunities would be explored in the region,” said Vineet Agarwal, managing director, TCI.

He said the company was expecting 10-15% growth in revenue as well as profit this year and expecting to maintain this level in the coming years despite uncertainties surfacing in the market with talk of a global recession and the continuing Russia-Ukraine war. Increasingly the share of regional business would contribute to the growth, Agarwal said.

TCI proposes to invest ₹300 crore in FY23 and a large portion of this has been set aside for buying a ship that will aid seaways operations that presently contribute 15% to revenue. The company currently has a fleet of six ships but a couple will complete their life cycle soon and would need to be replaced.

“Our big-ticket investment for this year is to buy a ship. But as the prices of ships have not come down much, acquiring one is getting very difficult. We are still hoping that in Q4 we should be able to complete the purchase,” Agarwal said adding that the company would add more ships going ahead.

Barring seaways business, everything else returned good growth for the company in the second quarter of current fiscal. “In Q2 & HY FY23, the company demonstrated consistent performance. Focus on core business fundamentals coupled with rising demand in the automobile and consumption sectors enabled all business segments to deliver satisfactory results despite inflationary pressure,” Agarwal said.

TCI, with revenue of over ₹5,000 crore is supply chain and logistics solutions provider having an extensive network of company-owned offices and 13 mn. sq. ft. of warehousing space.