IntrCity SmartBus’ FY26 revenue rises 40% to Rs 691 Cr; losses rise 76%

Travel-tech platform IntrCity Smartbus, reported a 40.1% year-on-year increase in operating revenue in FY26, following a Rs 250 crore Series D round led by A91 Partners in October 2025 to support expansion and technology upgrades. However, its losses widened 76% to Rs 28 crore during the year.

IntrCity’s revenue from operations grew to Rs 690.9 crore during FY26 as compared to Rs 493.2 crore in FY25, as per the company’s consolidated financial statements with the Registrar of Companies.

IntrCity SmartBus offers intercity bus travel through its digital platform and a network of independent operators, with services such as live tracking, onboard captains and boarding lounges. It also operates RailYatri, a train travel information and services platform, and relies on rented vehicles and operator partnerships rather than owning its fleet.

Bus operations remained the largest contributor to revenue at Rs 670.35 crore, or about 97% of operating revenue in FY26. Revenue from this service increased 42.5% from Rs 470.56 crore in FY25 as the company expanded its core intercity travel business.

Commission income declined 23.6% to Rs 14.18 crore from Rs 18.55 crore in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, revenue from advertisement services nearly doubled to Rs 2.44 crore from Rs 1.27 crore.

Including other operating and non-operating income, Intrcity’s total income stood at Rs 693.6 crore in FY26.

On the expense side, bus operations costs rose 43.5% to Rs 539.8 crore in FY26 from Rs 376.13 crore in FY25. The expense accounted for nearly 75% of total costs, in line with IntrCity's asset-light model that relies on rented vehicles and partner operators.

Commissions paid to selling agents increased 51% to Rs 75.97 crore from Rs 50.35 crore. These payments support ticket distribution and customer acquisition through sales agents and booking partners.

Employee benefit expenses grew 8% year-on-year to Rs 49.85 crore from Rs 46.17 crore while advertisement expenses stood at Rs 15.9 crore.

Legal and professional expenses, repair and maintenance costs, payment gateway charges, IT expenses and other overheads drove total expenses by 41% year-on-year to Rs 722.8 crore in FY26 from Rs 512.2 crore in FY25.

The company's EBITDA loss widened to Rs 27.69 crore in FY26 from Rs 16 crore in FY25, while its EBITDA margin deteriorated to -4% from -3.2%.

As operating costs grew faster than revenue, the company's losses widened 76% to Rs 27.9 crore in FY26. On a unit level, IntrCity spent Rs 1.05 to earn an operating revenue during the said period.

Despite the increase in losses, cash and bank balances rose to Rs 49 crore at the end of FY26 from Rs 21 crore a year earlier. Current assets also increased to Rs 62.5 crore from Rs 32.6 crore.

It competes with Abhibus, Zingbus, Leafybus and ixigo’s Freshbus.

While the bus segment is seeing an obvious rise as highway networks improve and people seek more flexibility on availability and pricing, Intercity’s Railyatri platform seems to be at serious risk as AI search answers more and more questions without the need to visit sites. That will be disappointing for the firm that surely expected more from it even two years back. There is probably a case for the firm to assess its priorities even more sharply in terms of the bus booking business,  and see how that can be maximised. Railyatri in fact needs to be repurposed as a platform to track train tickets availability and alternate bus routes exclusively in our view, to ensure the legacy traffic and strength is not frittered away.