As the Indian economy wriggled out of the pandemic woes, a rapid revival in the logistics sector attracted the attention of mutual funds. Delhivery, one of the top three listed logistics players in the country, has turned out to be the showstopper, keeping its close rivals Gati and AllCargo Logistics behind.
The Delhivery stock kept making loud blips on the mutual fund radar with an 8 percent rise in the market. While Gati lost nearly 17 percent, the AllCargo Logistics stock gained around 18 percent year to date.
Gati has not found any takers from the mutual funds space so far, while AllCargo constitutes 2.5 percent of the Tata SmallCap Fund Geg (G) assets under management (AUM) and 0.75 percent of Quant Value Fund -Reg(G) AUM.
According to Bloomberg, Gati has only two 'buy' recommendations from analysts, with no ratings on sell or hold. On the other hand, AllCargo Logistics, which owns more than 50 percent in Gati, has received four 'buy' calls, no 'hold' ratings, and one 'sell' rating.
The romance of mutual funds and logistics stocks takes a twist when it comes to Delhivery. The stock has become a mutual fund darling with 51 funds holding it, though the company reported losses. These funds include SBI, Mirae, HDFC, Franklin, Nippon and ICICI. The stock has 'buy' ratings from 14 analysts, five has 'hold' tags and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg.
Recent reports suggested that Delhivery has started taking fancy on Gati and acquisition talks are at an early stage. As of March 2023, AllCargo Logistics has 50.2 percent stake in Gati Ltd which worth around Rs 780 crore.
Delhivery has achieved a significant presence in the air cargo industry but it requires further reinforcement in the trucking business. Setting sights on Gati, which is known for its expertise in surface logistics and trucking, is a logical move for the company to firm up its position in this sector.
Gati Ltd oversees a portfolio of five subsidiaries and operates as an integrated logistics firm with the primary focus on express distribution, contract logistics, e-commerce logistics, and fuel stations. The majority of Gati's revenue is derived from its express distribution and supply chain services.
Gati, with three decades experience, caters to more than 19,800 pin codes, covering 735 out of 739 districts in India, while Delhivery reached out to 18,540 pin codes and AllCargo covers 99 percent of the India's pin codes.
Delhivery's net loss widened to Rs 159 crore for the March quarter from Rs 119.80 crore a year ago after its revenue declined for the second straight quarter amid a slowdown in e-commerce.
The company reported an operating income of Rs 1,859.6 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, 10 percent lower than Rs 2,017 crore in the same period last year. For the full year FY23 , Delhivery reported a 5 percent growth in operating revenue to Rs 7,225 crore as against Rs 6,882 crore a year ago. The company's net loss stood at Rs 1,021 crore from Rs 1,011 crore in FY22.
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