Can Skyways Air Services IPO deliver long-term growth for high-risk investors?

ET Intelligence Group: Skyways Air Services, a logistics company, plans to raise ₹399 crore through a fresh issue to repay debt and fund working capital requirements. It will also raise ₹184 crore through an offer for sale. The promoter group's stake will fall to 56.8% after the IPO from 79.1%. It is a multi-modal logistics provider offering end-to-end supply chain solutions across air and ocean freight forwarding. More than three-fourth of the revenue comes from air freight services. It has heavy dependency on cross-border trade making business susceptible to global economic slowdown, trade policy shifts, and currency volatility. However, it has been No. 1 Air Freight Forwarder since the past four calendar years. Given these factors, the issue is suitable for long-term investors with high risk-tolerance.

Business


Incorporated in 1984, Skyways Air Services provides services such as air and ocean freight forwarding, trucking, warehousing, custom broking, technology driven express cargo and parcel delivery. According to World ACD, the company has been consistently ranked No. 1 Air Freight Forwarder in terms of air waybills (AWB) from 2022 to 2025. It maintains direct commercial relationships with 56 international airlines and relies on a global network of logistics alliances to serve clients across 12 countries. The company has developed proprietary platforms to support different aspects of logistics operations. Air cargo volume grew close to 84 thousand tonnes in FY26 from 48 thousand tonnes in FY24 while ocean containers volume increased to 28,275 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) from 16,294 TEUs during the period.

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Financials

Between FY24 and FY26, revenue from operations rose 47.7% annually to ₹2,812.9 crore, operating profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped 61.2% to ₹125.6 crore and net profit grew 35.7% to ₹63.5 crore. While Ebitda margin expanded to 4.5% in FY26 from 3.8% in FY24, it trails peers whose margins range between 5% and 7.8%. In contrast, the company's net profit margin of 2.3%, is towards the higher end of the peer range of 0.2-2.7%. Cash flow from operations grew to ₹113.6 crore in FY26 from a deficit ₹9 crore in FY24.

Valuation

Considering the post-IPO equity and net profit for FY26, the company demands a price-earnings (P/E) multiple of upto 32. For peers including TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Shadowfax Technologies, Delhivery and Mahindra Logistics, the P/E range is wider between 46 and 376.