28-Oct-2026 23:07:41

GATEWAYAcquisition and merger

GATEWAY DISTRIPARKS LTD Q2 CONCALL: FY28 DOUBLE-DIGIT RAIL VOLUME GROWTH EXPECTED, ANKLESHWAR EXIM OPERATIONS FROM Q3 FY27, SNOWMAN FY27 EBITDA TARGET OF ₹100 CR+ & ICD CAPACITY EXPANSION

• Management expects quarterly container rail volumes to remain at or above approximately 100,000 TEUs during the remaining quarters of FY27, supported by recovery in EXIM cargo movement. • Management expects double-digit rail volume growth in FY28, supported by a full-year contribution from Ankleshwar MMLP and improving rail connectivity. • Management expects the Ankleshwar Multimodal Logistics Park to begin contributing commercial EXIM volumes during Q3 FY27. • Management confirmed that Ankleshwar has secured the required EXIM permissions, with bill-of-lading points being opened to support operations. • Management expects Ankleshwar to benefit from connectivity to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, improving access to key industrial and export-import markets. • Management plans to combine EXIM and domestic cargo at Ankleshwar to improve train utilization, operating efficiency and turnaround times. • Management expects Ankleshwar to contribute incremental container volumes and EBITDA, although shorter transport distances could reduce blended realization per TEU. • Management indicated that overall EBITDA and rail volumes are more useful performance indicators than realization per TEU alone as the network mix changes. • Management expects the Dedicated Freight Corridor connection to JNPT to create a long-term opportunity for shifting container cargo from road to rail. • Management estimated a potential market-wide road-to-rail conversion opportunity of approximately 10,000–15,000 TEUs per month for northbound JNPT traffic. • Management clarified that the 10,000–15,000 TEU monthly opportunity represents the total addressable market across operators, not a Gateway-specific volume target. • Management expects road-to-rail conversion to develop gradually because of shipping-line routing decisions, rail tariffs and the relative distance to northern markets. • Management has requested rail tariff rationalization from Indian Railways to improve JNPT rail competitiveness, but no confirmed benefit or implementation timeline was disclosed. • Management highlighted the first double-stack train movement on the JNPT DFC connection in June 2026 as an important infrastructure milestone. • Management expects the DFC network to support improved train efficiency and long-term container rail growth as cargo conversion increases. • Management targets commissioning of the Indore Inland Container Depot by December 2027, subject to completion of civil and railway infrastructure works. • Management expects Indore ICD to begin contributing initial volumes within approximately six months of commissioning. • Management expects the Indore ICD to achieve its full operating ramp-up over approximately two years following commissioning. • Management expects the Jaipur ICD to become operational within approximately 18 months after construction begins, subject to a favorable court ruling. • Management clarified that Jaipur's construction start date remains uncertain because the final court judgment is awaited. • Management targets a minimum internal rate of return of approximately 15% on new projects, reflecting disciplined capital allocation. • Management expects project payback periods of approximately seven years, depending on execution and operating performance. • Management expects Snowman Logistics to achieve FY27 EBITDA of more than ₹100 Cr, supported by warehousing growth and capacity expansion. • Management expects Snowman's core cold-storage warehousing business to maintain healthy operating margins despite changes in the overall business mix. • Management expects Snowman warehousing revenue growth to be supported by increasing pallet storage volumes and demand for temperature-controlled logistics. • Management plans to add approximately 23,000 pallet positions currently under construction over the next few months. • Management is evaluating approximately 20,000 additional pallet positions, although no committed investment or commissioning date was provided. • Management expects new Snowman facilities to focus primarily on cold and temperature-controlled warehousing. • Management aims to maintain Snowman warehouse utilization around 85–86% through customer-mix optimization and seasonal demand management. • Management expects Snowman's 5PL business to improve customer acquisition and growth during Q3 and Q4 FY27. • Management indicated that discussions with potential 5PL customers are at advanced stages, although new customer conversion remains uncertain. • Management emphasized that Snowman will avoid accepting 5PL contracts with negative or negligible margins merely to accelerate revenue growth. • Management expects expansion of existing customer relationships to support Snowman's 5PL business, including a customer that expanded from three geographies to pan-India operations. • Management is exploring refrigerated rail transportation opportunities between Gateway Distriparks and Snowman Logistics, although current volumes remain minimal. • Management expects Snowman's near-term PAT to remain affected by depreciation and interest costs associated with long-term cold-storage investments. • Management emphasized EBITDA, operating cash flow and long-term asset utilization as important indicators for evaluating Snowman's performance. • Management expects operating costs to remain sensitive to wage increases, statutory expenses and power tariffs. • Management indicated that annual power-cost increases of approximately 6–8% are generally considered during contract renewals. • Management expects fuel-cost changes in container rail operations to be passed through to customers, with corresponding changes in reported costs and realizations. • Management expects quarterly container volumes to fluctuate with EXIM trade conditions, despite the recovery toward normalized operating levels. • Container rail volumes recovered approximately 11% QoQ to around 100,000 TEUs during the reported quarter. • Management described approximately 100,000 TEUs per quarter as the minimum normalized operating volume it wants to sustain during the remainder of FY27. • Container business EBITDA recovered to approximately ₹100 Cr, reflecting a return toward normalized quarterly profitability. • Blended realization per TEU increased approximately 7% QoQ and 5% YoY, supported by fuel-price pass-through and cargo mix. • Management indicated that future realization per TEU may decline as shorter-distance Ankleshwar traffic becomes a larger part of the business. • EXIM trade composition stood at approximately 56% imports and 44% exports. • Management indicated that the container rail business had recovered toward its pre-disruption operating baseline, although monthly volume volatility remained. • JNPT's rail coefficient stood at approximately 14–15%, indicating scope for future road-to-rail conversion. • Snowman Logistics reported warehousing revenue growth of approximately 10–11%, supported by its cold-chain operations. • Snowman's pallet storage volumes increased approximately 10% YoY, reflecting continued demand for warehousing capacity. • Snowman warehouse utilization stood at approximately 85%, compared with a target range of 88–89% referenced in the notes. • Snowman's 5PL business recorded growth of approximately 1–2%, reflecting slower customer additions. • Management indicated that no new 5PL customers had been added during FY27 up to the date of the September commentary. • Snowman's reported warehousing EBITDA margin faced pressure from a higher contribution of lower-margin 5PL, park-and-pay and dry warehousing activities. • Management clarified that margins in Snowman's core owned and long-term-leased cold-storage facilities remained healthy. • Snowman's PAT remained negligible because of increasing depreciation and financing costs associated with capacity expansion. • The ongoing construction of additional pallet capacity is expected to support Snowman's long-term revenue potential but may create near-term capital and operating cost pressure. • Rail locomotive and crew shortages remain potential sources of seasonal operational disruption. • Key risks include volatile EXIM volumes, slower-than-expected DFC cargo conversion, rail tariff uncertainty and delays in Ankleshwar volume ramp-up. • Additional risks include the pending Jaipur court ruling, Indore commissioning execution, Snowman 5PL customer acquisition and rising warehousing operating costs. • Overall outlook remains cautiously positive, supported by normalized container rail volumes, approximately ₹100 Cr quarterly container EBITDA, Ankleshwar's expected Q3 FY27 contribution and FY28 double-digit rail volume growth ambitions. • Key monitorables include sustaining at least 100,000 TEUs of quarterly rail volumes, Ankleshwar EXIM ramp-up, JNPT road-to-rail conversion, Indore ICD execution and Snowman's progress toward its ₹100 Cr+ FY27 EBITDA target. • The supplied source is a four-page third-party summary of September 2026 management commentary, not the complete primary Q2 FY27 earnings-call transcript. Consolidated revenue, consolidated EBITDA and PAT figures were not available for verification from these notes.

GATEWAY DISTRIPARKS LTD

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