TCI Express posts 10.8% EBITDA growth as air and e-commerce services expand

TCI Express reported an 8.9% year-on-year increase in standalone revenue to ₹335.9 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2026, supported by growth across its surface, air and e-commerce express businesses. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 10.8% to ₹43 crore.

The Gurugram-based express distribution company announced the results on 5 November. Net profit stood at ₹26.7 crore, while the reported EBITDA margin reached 12.7%, its highest level in five quarters.

Which services drove revenue growth?

E-commerce Express recorded the fastest expansion, with revenue increasing 51.6% year on year. Domestic Air Express grew 29.4%, while International Air Express rose 26.1%.

Surface Express, the company’s largest business, increased revenue by 9.4%. Its performance remained central to overall growth despite the higher expansion rates recorded by air and e-commerce services.

For April–September, revenue reached ₹647.9 crore, compared with ₹595.3 crore a year earlier. EBITDA increased to ₹80 crore from ₹72.2 crore, while net profit stood at ₹49 crore.

Managing Director Chander Agarwal said the company’s priorities included strengthening enterprise customer relationships and investing in its network and technology.

What supported the surface and air businesses?

In its quarterly investor presentation, TCI Express attributed Surface Express growth to higher yields, enterprise customer additions and network expansion. It reported adding 10 branches to improve coverage and operational reach.

The company also highlighted growth among its top 100 enterprise customers, alongside new accounts across industries and increased business from existing clients.

Domestic Air Express benefited from customer additions, higher business from established accounts and improvements to the air network. TCI Express said stronger airline partnerships were intended to improve shipment reliability, coverage and operational flexibility.

The domestic air service combines air and surface transport, offering door-to-door, door-to-airport, airport-to-airport and airport-to-door options. Its published service offering includes 24-hour delivery to major metropolitan markets and 48-hour delivery to selected other cities.

These options allow customers to choose services according to shipment urgency and the collection or delivery arrangements required. They also connect air cargo movements with the road transport needed at either end of a shipment.

What does the e-commerce service cover?

TCI Express’s e-commerce offering includes movements from vendors to warehouses, between warehouses, and from warehouses to vendors or customers. It also covers packaging material distribution, fulfilment-centre movements to the last mile and intra-city distribution.

The service includes cash collection, customer information-system interfaces and real-time tracking. This gives the business exposure to several stages of e-commerce distribution, beyond the final delivery to a consumer.

The reported growth therefore reflects activity across a service portfolio that includes replenishment and warehouse-linked movements as well as delivery operations. The company did not provide separate growth figures for these individual activities in the results release.

How does automation support the network?

TCI Express’s investor presentation identifies more than 1,000 company-operated branches, over 500 express routes and more than 2,500 feeder routes. Its network combines surface, rail and air services.

Automated sorting facilities form part of that infrastructure. The Gurugram centre has a stated processing capacity of 15,000 packages per hour, while the Chakan facility near Pune has capacity for 11,000 packages per hour.

The company links automation to shorter sorting times and improved package processing. These investments provide operational context for the quarterly performance, although the results do not quantify the contribution of individual facilities to EBITDA growth.