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Waterways Leisure Tourism Limited, the parent company operating Cordelia Cruises, which has become a leading identity of premium cruise tourism in the Indian tourism and hospitality sector, has surprised investors with its stellar financial results in the stock market. In the second quarter (July-September) of the current financial year 2026-27, the company has made a strong comeback from losses by registering a historic financial turnaround. Waterways Leisure Tourism has earned a consolidated net profit of ₹58.50 crore in the September quarter, compared to a net loss of ₹8.93 crore in the same period a year ago, according to official financial filings with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). At the same time, there has been a strong jump of 30.4 percent i.e. about 31 percent in the operating revenue of the company on an annual basis, due to which the total income of the company has increased from ₹ 102 crore to ₹ 133 crore (₹ 132.90 crore). With the growing craze for cruise vacations among Indian tourists, record bookings and strategic expansion, the company has brought its operations completely on the profitable track.
The company’s exceptional quarterly results were not only driven by strong operating performance but also included a huge one-off exceptional gain. The company’s net profit during the September quarter included an extraordinary profit of ₹49.49 crore (about ₹49.5 crore). According to the financial statements, this amount has been registered by the company’s wholly owned foreign subsidiary ‘Bay Cruise Investments Inc.’ The company’s upcoming new luxury cruise ship ‘Sky’ was delivered ahead of schedule on September 10 instead of the scheduled date of September 30. This huge amount was recorded in the company’s books as compensation for this early delivery without any liability, which took the company’s net profit to an unprecedented high. However, market analysts believe that even if this extraordinary profit is kept aside, the core business of the company has been successful in recovering from losses and registering an operating profit i.e. operating surplus.
The real financial health of any capital-intensive companies like hospitality and aviation-cruise is measured by their EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). In the second quarter, Waterways Laser Tourism has proved its operational efficiency on this front. In the second quarter of the last financial year, the company had suffered an EBITDA loss of ₹ 5.9 crore, but this time the company has recorded a positive operating profit (Positive EBITDA) of ₹ 9.4 crore. With this, the EBITDA margin of the company has improved to 7.1 percent. In the July-September quarter, which is considered monsoon and off-season, the demand for sea cruise tours is generally less than other months of the year. Despite this, achieving an EBITDA margin of 7.1% proves that Cordelia Cruises has prudently controlled its ships’ maintenance expenses, fuel consumption and lease rental costs.
If we look at the combined performance of the first six months of the current financial year (April to September 2026), the financial health of the company has shown unprecedented strength. The company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹81.27 crore in the first half (H1 FY27), a jump of over 214 per cent from ₹25.83 crore in the same period last fiscal. Whereas half yearly revenue has increased from ₹277.85 crore to ₹323.01 crore. The total size of the company’s balance sheet has grown straight to ₹1,348.43 crore as of September 30, 2026, from ₹341.78 crore as of March 2026, representing an expansion of more than four times. The company is investing aggressively to expand its capacity. In the second quarter, the company has advanced an interest-bearing loan of ₹429 crore to a third party for the acquisition of a new cruise ship, and also paid lease rent advance of US$24.8 million to the cruise owner for its upcoming ships ‘Sky’ and ‘Sun’. This clearly indicates that the company is preparing to double its fleet capacity in the coming months.
The Indian tourism industry has witnessed a major structural change in the last few years. While earlier rich Indian families would travel to Singapore, Europe or the Caribbean to enjoy cruises, now domestically, world-class luxury cruising is available on the coastal waterways of Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, Lakshadweep, Visakhapatnam and Chennai. Cordelia Cruises has witnessed a 40 to 50 per cent jump in bookings for weddings, corporate conferences (MICE) and family vacations among tourists and corporates from non-coastal metros like Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, Kanpur, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Patna. Advanced booking for the festive season, Diwali, New Year and Winter Holidays is going on in full, the direct benefit of which is expected to be visible in the revenue of the company in the upcoming third and fourth quarter.
Talking about the stock market journey of Waterways Leisure Tourism, the company was listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange on July 1 this year after an IPO with an issue price of ₹ 808. Post listing, the company’s board and shareholders had approved a stock split of 1:10 by dividing each equity share of ₹10 face value into 10 pieces to increase the liquidity of the shares and facilitate participation of small retail investors. After the stock split, the company’s shares are trading around ₹100.98 on NSE. Although there was a slight decline in the stock on Friday, but so far in the calendar year 2026, this stock has given an excellent return of more than 53 percent to its investors. Market leaders believe that the company currently has short-term borrowings of more than ₹ 344 crore, but if the company’s capacity and occupancy continue to increase with the addition of new ships, then this Indian cruise operator will emerge as the biggest brand of the country’s blue economy vision.