Experienced promoters
The operations of the company are managed by Mr. Amar Thakkar and Mr. Bhupendra M Thakkar. Initially, Mr. Amar Thakkar started his career in the catering business, he had joined as a working partner for a catering firm for IRCTC After gaining experience over the years, he started his own venture. The company already has a healthy portfolio of trains to which it provides catering services and presence across stations where it operates food plazas. Acuite believes that the experience of the promoters will leverage and benefit the company going forward.

Scale of Operation:
AHPL reported topline growth in FY25, with revenue increasing to Rs.210.46 crore from Rs.189.79 crore in FY24 due to servicing around 71 trains; however, revenue moderated to Rs.181.64 crore in FY26 as the number of trains reduced to about 61 following the Company’s strategic decision to discontinue bidding for certain clusters, impacting train-based catering income. AHPL has secured order to provide catering and hospitality services for two Tejas Express trains, expected to generate around Rs.23.55 crore annually over 3–3.5 years, while stable contributions from railway station food plazas (about 15% of revenue) and a tie-up with Zomato to operate three base kitchens are likely to support medium-term revenue growth. Operating performance also strengthened, with EBITDA margin improving to 9.28% in FY25 from 7.89% in FY24 due to lower license fee expenses, and margins are anticipated to rise further to 11–12% in the medium term, while PAT margin saw a marginal improvement to 3.48% in FY25 from 3.32% in FY24.

Average Financial Risk Profile:
AHPL’s financial risk profile remained average in FY25, with improvement in net worth but high gearing and moderate debt protection metrics. Tangible net worth rose to Rs.48.56 crore from Rs.41.24 crore in FY24 due to higher accretion to reserves, while total borrowings increased to Rs.156.22 crore in FY 25 from Rs.89.04 crore in FY 24, driven largely by higher short-term borrowings and promoter unsecured loans. Short-term debt rose sharply following new working capital facilities of Rs.70 crore (partly FD-backed) and a Rs.30 crore short-tenure (1 year) term loan for license fee payments under the IRCTC cluster model; these facilities, along with the Rs.30 crore WCDL, were subsequently closed through FD liquidation and promoter support in FY 20226. With total limits reducing to Rs.87 crore from Rs.114 crore and the Company discontinuing cluster-model bidding, reliance on short-term borrowings is expected to moderate. Gearing remained high at 3.22 times in FY 25, while debt protection metrics stood stable with ICR and DSCR stood at 1.81 times and 1.30 times in FY 25.leverage indicators also stayed average with TOL/TNW at 3.52 times and debt/EBITDA at 6.61 times in FY25. Acuité believes the financial risk profile is likely to improve modestly over the medium term, supported by stronger net worth, reduced fund-based limits, and lower dependence on short-term borrowings

Intensive Working Capital Management:
Working capital management remained stretched in FY25, with GCA days rising to 222 day from 193 day in FY24 due to higher debtor days, inventory days and other current assets. Debtor days increased to 96 day in FY 25 from 78 days in FY 24, mainly because payments from IRCTC for train catering typically take 90–120 days after monthly billing and verification, while payments from food plazas are received within 30–40 days and catering stall receipts are over the counter. Inventory days rose to 40 day in FY 25 from 29 days in FY 24 owing to higher stock maintained at food plazas and base kitchens, while creditor days declined to 17 day in FY 25 from 37 days in FY 24. Other current assets also increased to Rs.51.35 crore in FY 25 from Rs.43.21 crore in FY 24, driven by higher advances to suppliers. Acuité believes working capital management is expected remain in the range of 100-120 days in the medium term due to the inherent nature of their operation.