RITES Ltd, a Navratna public sector undertaking and a leading transport and engineering consultancy company, is banking on increased export orders and diversification of its Quality Assurance (QA) business to drive revenue growth in the coming years, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Rahul Mithal.In a statement to PTI, Mithal said, “Proactive efforts to secure export orders for rolling stock and diversify the client base have helped improve our revenue outlook for the coming years.”The remarks come in the backdrop of the company reporting a 4.3 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated operating revenue for the March quarter of FY25 to Rs 615 crore, compared to Rs 643 crore in the same quarter last year. Despite the drop in revenue, net profit rose by 3.4 per cent year-on-year to Rs 141 crore during the quarter.Mithal attributed the decline in rolling stock exports to a lack of new orders from traditional markets in Africa and South Asia during and after the pandemic. In addition, the QA segment saw a dip in volume and margins after Indian Railways, for the first time, engaged four entities—including TuV India Pvt. Ltd, Bureau Veritas India Pvt. Ltd, and Intertek India Pvt. Ltd—for QA services through an open tendering process.However, the outlook for exports has started to improve. “The export outlook improved after nearly three years when we secured an export order from Mozambique for the supply of 10 locomotives – the first such order won through global competitive bidding – driven by sustained and focused outreach to prospective countries,” he said.Mithal noted that RITES has since managed to secure one export order in each quarter of FY25. As of March 31, 2025, the company’s export order book stands at Rs 1,360 crore. He explained that export orders typically take 15–24 months to convert into revenue, meaning the financial impact will be more visible from FY26 onwards.Key export orders currently include:
- A Rs 900 crore order from Bangladesh for 200 passenger coaches
- A Rs 300 crore order from Mozambique for 10 locomotives
- Approximately Rs 150 crore worth of orders from South Africa for three separate contracts, each involving three locomotives
In response to the evolving QA landscape, RITES has significantly reoriented its strategy by expanding its QA services beyond traditional railway projects. Mithal said the company has diversified into sectors such as renewables (solar), the PM Vishwakarma Yojana, power transmission and distribution, the Jal Jeevan Mission, Public Health Engineering Departments, vendor assessment through GeM, Independent Safety Assessment, and international assignments.“From the outset of FY25, we emphasised the execution of domestic consultancy projects, especially the high-margin consultancy projects, which helped us in limiting the dip in operating revenue and profits YoY,” Mithal noted.He further highlighted the company’s strong order book, stating, “By way of aggressive outreach, we also consolidated our order book by maintaining the trend of ‘one order a day company’, securing more than 500 orders worth Rs 5,500 crore in the year and ending the year with an all-time high order book of Rs 8,877 crore.”Looking ahead, Mithal said RITES is well-positioned for growth. “This twin-pronged focused business strategy of improved execution and aggressive order inflows has given us the platform to aim for an all-time high revenue in FY26. We will also continue to maintain our strike rate of 1 order a day and get further export orders,” he said.