Summary
Le Travenues Technology Limited - Q3 FY26 Earnings Call Summary Thursday, January 22, 2026, 18:00 IST
Event Participants
Executives 3 Aloke Bajpai (Chairman, MD & Group CEO), Rajnish Kumar (Director & Group Co-CEO), Saurabh Devendra Singh (Group CFO)
Analysts 4 Anmol Garg (DAM Capital), Pankaj Mehendiratta (BofA), Swapnil Potdukhe (JM Financial), Vinamra Hirawat (Jefferies)
Financials & KPIs
| Metric | Reported | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue from Operations | ₹317.6 crores | +31% YoY; All-time high driven by strong execution in flights and buses. |
| Gross Transaction Value (GTV) | ₹4,902.9 crores | +21% YoY; All-time high performance despite flight operational disruptions. |
| Profit After Tax (PAT) | ₹24 crores | +54% YoY; Reflects continued operating leverage and scale. |
| Adjusted EBITDA | ₹30.8 crores | +27% YoY; Growth maintained despite ₹2 crore adverse impact from flight disruptions. |
| Contribution Margin (Group) | ₹115.3 crores | +12% YoY; Margin percentage stood at 36%. |
| Flight GTV / Revenue | ₹2,055 cr / ₹102.4 cr | GTV +22% YoY, Revenue +49% YoY; Outpaced market growth despite 4,500 cancellations in Dec. |
| Train GTV / Revenue | ₹2,095.5 cr / ₹134.1 cr | GTV +15% YoY, Revenue +12% YoY; Represents 43% of total GTV. |
| Bus GTV / Revenue | ₹671 million / ₹75.6 cr | GTV +36% YoY, Revenue +47% YoY; Strategy prioritizes growth/penetration over margins. |
| AI Voice Resolution | 76%+ | Percentage of voice calls automated; peaked at 90% (150k+ calls) during Dec crisis. |
Geographic & Segment Commentary
- International Flights: This segment saw GTV growth of over 50% YoY, now accounting for 20% of total flight GTV. Growth is expanding beyond Tier 1 airports into Tier 2 and 3 cities due to improved connectivity to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Supply was bolstered by 26 new NDC airline integrations.
- Bus Segment: Scaled from ~₹500 crore annual GTV in 2021 to ₹2,400 crore in the trailing 12 months (6x growth). Management is maintaining a “growth over margin” stance, keeping CM in the 40% range to drive digital penetration, which remains low in the 20s.
- Train Segment: Remains a foundational pillar contributing 35% of group CM. The segment saw 26.12 million segments booked (+8.8% YoY) and is benefiting from government plans to double originating capacity by 2030 through Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat initiatives.
- Hotels: Currently in the “build-out” phase, focusing on solving the “what you see vs. what you get” problem in budget stays. Management is adding direct supply via channel managers and targeting a future shift in consumer behavior from offline walk-ins to online bookings.
Company-Specific & Strategic Commentary
- AI Customer Experience Stack: During the December flight crisis, AI handled 150,000+ calls end-to-end, maintaining a 96.7% answer rate within 2 minutes. Management views AI as a “trust lever” rather than just a cost-cutting tool, enabling rapid refunds (3h 10m avg) during peak disruptions.
- Inorganic AI & Global Strategy: The company established a Singapore subsidiary to facilitate overseas investments, particularly in AI-native teams and travel adjacencies. An Investment Committee featuring Shailesh Lakhani and Rajesh Sawhney has been formed to evaluate high-conviction bets.
- Multimodal Cross-selling: The platform leverages its train user base to upsell buses (3x refund guarantee for waitlisted users) and recently launched airport cabs and metro ticketing for Delhi and Mumbai.
Guidance & Outlook
| Metric | Guidance / Outlook | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 FY26 GTV | High-single-digit base effect | Q4 FY25 had extraordinary demand from Mahakumbh; Q4 FY26 faces a tough YoY comparison. |
| Bus CM % | Low 40s Range | Management intent is to stay in the 40s, potentially dropping 1-2% for growth, but avoiding the 30s. |
| Hotel Investment | Step-up in FY27 | Plans to intensify product and supply efforts once “product-market fit” is confirmed. |
| Train Capacity | Long-term Expansion | Indian Railways plans to double capacity by 2030; notes this is a long-cycle infrastructure investment. |
Risks & Constraints
| Risk | Context |
|---|---|
| Operational Disruptions | DGCA FDTL norm changes led to 4,500 flight cancellations in Dec, causing a ₹2 crore EBITDA hit. |
| Base Effect | Extraordinary demand from last year’s Mahakumbh creates a high hurdle for YoY growth in Q4 FY26. |
| Regulatory Friction | Mandatory Aadhaar verification for train bookings initially introduced user friction, though experience is now normalizing. |
| Budget Hotel Quality | Significant “dissonance” between online photos and physical reality in budget hotels remains a barrier to digital adoption. |
Q&A Highlights
Flight Disruptions (Anmol Garg)
- Question: What was the financial impact of the December airline cancellations and the proactive fee refunds?
- Answer: The total impact from lost bookings, cancellations, and refunded convenience/assured fees was approximately ₹2 crores, which has been fully absorbed in Q3 results (Saurabh Singh).
Bus Margins (Anmol Garg)
- Question: Why have bus contribution margins declined and what is the sustainable level?
- Answer: We are deliberately chasing growth over profits given that digital penetration is only in the low 20s. We will operate in the 40% CM range and aren’t shy about investing in “peace of mind” products like roadside assistance (Aloke Bajpai).
Singapore Subsidiary (Swapnil Potdukhe)
- Question: What is the purpose of the new Singapore entity?
- Answer: It serves as a channel for overseas investments in technology, AI-native teams, and travel adjacencies that offer high strategic synergy (Saurabh Singh/Rajnish Kumar).
Operating Leverage (Swapnil Potdukhe)
- Question: Fixed employee costs (ex-ESOP) are declining; is this due to AI?
- Answer: Mature businesses like trains and flights are showing operating leverage. AI helps handle peak volumes without adding headcount, as seen with TARA and automated voice agents (Aloke Bajpai/Saurabh Singh).
Key Takeaway
ixigo delivered a record performance in Q3 FY26, with revenue growing 31% YoY to ₹317.6 crores and PAT rising 54% to ₹24 crores, despite significant headwinds from airline operational disruptions. The quarter served as a successful stress test for the company’s AI stack, which handled 90% of customer calls during the December crisis, maintaining high satisfaction scores while processing refunds in under four hours. Strategically, the firm is pivoting toward an “AI-native” future, having formed a specialized Investment Committee and a Singapore subsidiary to scout for global tech talent and adjacencies. While the bus segment continues to compound at 40-50% growth by prioritizing market share, the hotel vertical remains a long-term build-out focus. Management warned of a high base effect for Q4 due to last year’s Mahakumbh but remains confident in the secular trend of spiritual tourism and long-term railway capacity expansion.
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