Cordelia Cruises: Q2 swings to profit on one-off gain
Waterways Leisure Tourism runs Cordelia Cruises, holidays at sea designed for Indian travellers. On October 09, 2026 it reported Q2 FY27 revenue of Rs 132.90 crore with PAT, profit after tax, of Rs 58.50 crore, and H1 FY27 revenue of Rs 323.01 crore with PAT of Rs 81.27 crore . The swing from loss to profit leans on a large exceptional gain, just as new ship Sky adds about 126% capacity .
Q2 profit rebound leans on exceptional gain
The headline shows growth and a return to profit on both quarter and half-year bases .
Source: .
| Period, consolidated | Revenue from operations, Rs crore | EBITDA, Rs crore | PAT, Rs crore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 FY27 | 132.90 | 77.68 | 58.50 |
| Q2 FY26 | 101.54 | -2.40 | -8.93 |
| H1 FY27 | 323.01 | 124.21 | 81.27 |
| H1 FY26 | 277.85 | 53.78 | 25.83 |
EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Margins moved with the same swing .
Source: .
| Period, consolidated | EBITDA margin | PAT margin |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 FY27 | 58.45% | 44.02% |
| Q2 FY26 | -2.36% | -8.80% |
| H1 FY27 | 38.45% | 25.16% |
| H1 FY26 | 19.36% | 9.30% |
Those margins need context. Reported profit includes other income and a one-time item booked in Q2 .
Source: .
| Period, consolidated | Total expenses, Rs crore | Other income, Rs crore | Exceptional items, Rs crore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 FY27 | 141.55 | 18.26 | 49.49 |
| Q2 FY26 | 117.02 | 3.99 | nil |
| H1 FY27 | 300.12 | 19.77 | 49.49 |
| H1 FY26 | 246.94 | 5.02 | nil |
Total costs also rose year on year. Finance costs and depreciation were higher in H1 than a year ago .
The H1 result builds on a softer Q1. For the quarter ended June 2026 management reported consolidated net profit of Rs 22.77 crore with net margin of around 12% . That quarter was shaped by very high fuel costs linked to Middle East tensions .
Single ship sailed fuller in H1 after strong Q1
Empress was the only ship in service through September. Capacity edged down while guests carried rose, so occupancy improved .
Source: .
| H1 FY27 operating measure | Level | Change vs H1 FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Available passenger cruise days, or capacity | 2,73,824 days | -1.1% |
| Passenger cruise days, or guests carried times days cruised | 2,49,798 days | +2.7% |
| Load factor, or passenger days divided by available days | 91.2% | +3.4% |
Available days means double occupancy per cabin times cruise days. Load can exceed 100% because many cabins carry three or four guests .
The company put Q2 load factor at 75.53% with average ticket price almost flat year on year, and H1 load factor at 91.23% with average ticket price up 6% year on year . The October deck puts H1 average ticket price, defined as ticket revenue divided by passenger days, at Rs 11,082 .
Q1 had set a high base. Load factor was 105% with average ticket price up 4.3% versus Q1 FY26, on more than 55,700 guests and 24,245 staterooms booked .
Q2 softness fits the seasonal plan. Management said Q1 is very strong, Q2 flattens when the ship moves to the east coast, and Q3 and Q4 spike with weddings, Diwali, Navratri, Christmas and New Year . It uses Q2 to test new ports such as Vizag, Puducherry and Chennai at lower occupancy as an investment for the next five to six years .
Ticket sales carried H1 while onboard picked up in Q2
Ticket revenue remains the core driver, with onboard and other revenue alongside it .
Sources: H1 FY27 — ; Q1 FY27 — .
| Period | Ticket revenue, Rs crore | Onboard and other revenue, Rs crore | Revenue from operations, Rs crore |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 FY27 | 276.81 | 46.01 | 323.01 |
| Q1 FY27 | 176.50 | 13.61 | 190.11 |
In H1 the split implies about 85.7% ticket and about 14.3% onboard and other . In Q1 the split was about 92.8% ticket and about 7.2% onboard and other . The change points to a higher onboard contribution in Q2, which is an inference from the two disclosed splits.
Sky doubles rooms ahead of peak season
Delivery of Cordelia Sky one month ahead of schedule was the key milestone in the period . It expands overall capacity by about 126%, starts operations on October 23, 2026, and has seen encouraging initial bookings .
Source: .
| Ship | Guests at double occupancy | Staterooms |
|---|---|---|
| Empress, in operation since 2021 | 1,592 | 796 |
| Sky, sailing from October 23, 2026 | 2,004 | 1,002 |
| Current fleet, Empress plus Sky | not disclosed | 1,798 |
| Sun, scheduled for FY28 | 1,936 | 968 |
| Fleet at full scale | not disclosed | 2,766 |
Cordelia Sun remains on track for scheduled delivery to support the next phase of growth . The company has also started evaluating new fleet opportunities under its long-term roadmap, with no ship names, cost or dates disclosed .
The path for Sky was laid out in July. Handover was set for September 25, 2026, arrival in Mumbai for October 15, 2026 and maiden voyage for October 23, 2026, with both new ships open for booking since April 2025 . Short sailings normally book 50 to 60 days out, while highlight sailings including the maiden voyage, Christmas, New Year, Holi and corporate demand were already booked . Advance bookings stood at Rs 65 crore at July 23, 2026, seen translating to about Rs 110 crore to Rs 115 crore revenue for shorter sailings .
Premium cabins drive revenue scale more than prices
Management stressed that mix matters more than headline pricing . Empress offers 69 suite and balcony cabins, while Sky offers almost 269, with Sky at around 1,000 cabins against Empress at around 800 cabins .
Before, the company sold 69 premium rooms per cruise. Now it will sell about 250 premium rooms per cruise plus 200 extra rooms overall . The result is almost 100% higher potential revenue per ship than the current vessel . Sky also adds dining and leisure, with 10 dining options and 11 bars and lounges against 4 and 9 on Empress .
The ships are held through charters rather than outright ownership. Vessel owners give the ships on bareboat charter to Baycruise Shipping and Leasing IFSC at GIFT City, which gives them on time charter to Waterways Leisure Tourism as operator . The network to fill that capacity is framed as 23 destinations from India to Australia by 2028 .
Loyalty and direct sales aim to fill new capacity
The company is rolling out The Chairman's Club, built on rewards, loyalty and referrals across bookings, onboard experiences, excursions and referrals to drive repeat bookings and higher spending .
Management had flagged the rollout for end of Q2 alongside a new sales centre in Cochin in September to deepen direct sales and multilingual guest engagement . Demand for onboard offerings, entertainment and destination experience was described as the highlight for guest satisfaction in Q1 .
Fuel cost per sailing day stayed sharply higher
Fuel intensity rose even as other unit costs held steady .
Source: .
| Cost per unit, H1 | H1 FY27 | H1 FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel cost divided by available passenger days | Rs 2,480 | Rs 1,472 |
| Crew expenses divided by available passenger days | Rs 1,686 | Rs 1,598 |
| Shipboard cost of sales divided by passenger days | Rs 1,985 | Rs 2,084 |
| Port expenses divided by passenger days | Rs 1,003 | Rs 996 |
Fuel was up 69%, crew up 6%, shipboard down 5% and port up 0.66% year on year . Passenger days expanded while available days edged down, so the fuel rise was not from sailing more days .
Management linked the pressure to geopolitics. Fuel bought as specialised VLSFO averaged 580 dollars per tonne last year, spiked to 1,228 dollars when tensions started and averaged 800 dollars at the time of the July call . In Q1 the fuel impact was about Rs 14 crore, plus about Rs 1 crore in food and about Rs 2 crore in crew costs tied to global maritime salary rules .
Because cruises are sold in advance and Q1 was already heavily booked, no retroactive charge was added . Recovery through fuel surcharges on new bookings was expected to show from end of Q2 into Q3 . Management also expects fixed shore costs in marketing and management to be shared once Sky and then Sun join, lifting purchasing power .
Borrowings rose with expansion. As of September 30, 2026 total debt stood at Rs 412.53 crore while net worth stood at Rs 731.51 crore . The presentation balance sheet shows total assets of Rs 1,348.40 crore against Rs 341.80 crore at March 31, 2026, and total equity of Rs 727.30 crore against Rs 80.20 crore . Chairman and CEO Jurgen Bailom said focus on utilisation, pricing discipline and guest experience drove H1, and called Sky an important milestone for the second half .
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