VRL Logistics sees muted start to Q1 FY25 on back of driver unavailability due to elections

VRL Logistics, which reported a weak performance on the back of soft demand across sectors, continues to witness a muted start of Q1 FY25, given the unavailability of drivers due to the ongoing general elections, thereby hurting their operations, the company informed investors. 

However, the company expects operations to normalise soon, with the completion of elections, an analyst update from Nuvama Research reveals.

VRL Logistics' net profit during Q4FY24 stood at Rs 21.54 crore against Rs 193.18 crore in Q4FY23, translating to an 88.8% drop. The company's revenue was Rs 772.21 crore in Q4 FY24, a 4.5% jump versus Rs 702.88 crore in Q4 FY23.

However, the volumes were up by  9.61% Q4 YoY from 1031 thousand metric tonnes to 1130 thousand metric tonnes and up by 9.30% YoY from 3912 thousand metric tonnes to 4276 thousand metric tonnes, the investor presentation by the company reveals.

The company witnessed a significant growth in volumes from North, Eastern, and North Eastern states due to the expansion of its branch network. In contrast, there was comparatively slower demand in Southern States due to unfavourable monsoon spread, which had an impact on volume growth.

The Bombay Stock Exchange listed VRL Logistics currently operates with 5994 owned vehicles, which include a wide range of trucks, trailors, and specialised equipment. It operates out of 1209 branches through 50 transhipment hubs and has a customer base of over 9 lakh people.

The company added 891 new vehicles in FY24 and 128 new vehicles in Q4 FY24, bringing the total goods transportation fleet capacity to 86405 tonnes.