Logistics firm Delhivery plans to invest up to Rs 300 crore over two years for expansion

Delhivery, a logistics firm, plans to invest up to Rs 300 crore (US$ 42.56 million) in 18-24 months on expansion, including increasing fleet size and setting up of trucking hubs, in order to meet increased demand for more organised players in the sector in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. It also plans to add around 150 trucks to its fleet apart from launching trucking terminals in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru as it sets eyes on clocking revenue close to Rs 7,000 crore (US$ 993.05 million) in the next 24 months, up from Rs 2,800 crore (US$ 397.22 million) last year.

"Our total capital investment over the next 18-24 months is going to be in the range of Rs 250-300 crore (US$ 35.47- 42.56 million). We will continue to invest behind growing our trucking network. We are going to launch three of the largest trucking terminals in the country in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore," said Delhivery Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Mr Sahil Barua.

It started the supply chain services firm in 2011 and plans to grow its fleet with Volvo and other partners.

"Our own fleet all put together is 300 vehicles. We will expand that to about 400-450 vehicles over the next 18 months," added Mr Barua. The company's partner fleets, wherein many other operators work with it, operate with close to 5,000-7,000 vehicles daily.

"The reality is that there has been an increasing shift of companies who want to work now with more organised players in logistics. Earlier the industry was more unorganised. So, for companies like Delhivery, we have been able to grow our businesses in this period because more demand has come," he said.

Mr Barua further said, "Currently we are doing about 1.5 million orders a day in our express business. We also handle close to about 3,000 tonnes of cargo a day. That's nearly 50 per cent higher than what we were last year."

The company expects to witness growth of at least 35-40 per cent this year.

"We did about Rs 2,800 crore (US$ 397.22 million) of revenue last year. We expect to grow at least 35-40 per cent this year. At this point we are trending higher than, but we will end up around 40 per cent higher than last year. We expect to reach close to Rs 6,000-7,000 crore (US$ 851.18- 993.05 million) of revenue in the next 24 months," Mr Barua said.

He further added that Delhivery is "an extremely well-capitalised company" to meet its investment requirements considering the backing of its investors, which include the Canadian Pension Plan and Soft Bank, among others.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.