Logistics player V-Trans eyes 40% top-line growth at Rs 1,500 cr this fiscal

V-Trans, the city-based integrated logistics solutions provider with a national presence, is looking at around 40 per cent top-line growth this fiscal at Rs 1,500 crore on the back of the economy getting back to normalcy even though rising fuel prices and competition from unorganised players are a concern.

Started off as a regional player in Kutch in Gujarat as Vijay Transport in 1958, today it is an integrated logistics operator with 750 branches offering traditional road transport Its flagship business V-Trans contributes over 75 per cent of the total revenue. V-Express offers express logistics, while V-Logis operates in warehousing and e-commerce delivery, primarily serving Amazon and Flipkart.

V-Trans is the largest player in the PTL (part-truck-load) logistics space, controlling nearly half the market, Mahendra Shah, son of the founder KK Shah and the group managing director and chief executive of V-Trans, told PTI.

Shah entered the family business in 1975 when he was just 22 and is credited for transforming Vijay Transport, which was a regional transport player, into V-Trans that’s a pan-India integrated logistics solutions provider and among the top five in the space. Under his leadership, it grew to over Rs 1,130 crore business in FY22, from 10 branches with a single offering to 750 branches across the country.

V-Trans closed FY22 with a revenue of Rs 1,136 crore from which it earned a net margin of 5-6 per cent, while it registered Rs 960 crore revenue in FY21. It has set a target of crossing the Rs 1,500 crore revenue mark this fiscal, Shah said, basing his optimism on the growing demand from across the industry.

But, he admitted that spiralling fuel price along with rising competition from smaller players is a concern.

It can be noted that diesel prices for trucks have gone up by almost 35 per cent since March but due to competition, operators are unable to pass on the entire cost inflation to end customers.

Since almost 80 per cent of our truck contractors and customers are there for decades, it is not easy to fully pass on the operating cost to them. Also, truck rentals is a very competitive business. We can charge a better premium and full cost pass-on only from the remaining 20 per cent business as they are spot demand, he explained.

Giving a break-up of the revenue from the three verticals, Shah said V-Trans chipped with Rs 880 crore last year and hopes to make Rs 1,050-1,100 crore this fiscal; V-Express contributed Rs 245 crore and should touch Rs 300 crore this financial year; and V-Logis, which fetched Rs 35 crore last year, should be crossing Rs 100-crore this fiscal.

Shah said the company also began working on an initial public offering over the next two-three years and has already appointed a CFO and a few board members for this.