Blue Dart Express Ltd, into courier and integrated air package distribution, is looking at making its presence felt in ground cargo delivery in the country. It has also planned to add another Boeing 757 to its fleet of freighters this year.
A leader in air-cargo delivery, the company has a limited presence in the ground service under ‘Dart Surface’. The ground transportation segment is worth around Rs 1,146 crore (euro 206 million).
“We are investing Rs 22 crore this year to carry out our expansion plans. Most of it will be directed towards building infrastructure for the ground service,” said Amod Dasgupta, vice-president (east).
The company has over 4,300 vehicles for its ground services. “Large clients are asking for an end-to-end solution through roads only,” Dasgupta said.
“While our focus remains air cargo, we plan to put a lot of emphasis on ground transportation. The target is to have a 20-30% share of the ground transportation segment in the next seven years,” he said.
The company has decided to add one more Boeing 757 to its fleet of six freighters, which includes four Boeing 737s and two Boeing 757s.
Refusing to comment on the amount of investment involved, Dasgupta said the domestic market for air cargo is expected to reach Rs 5,266 crore in the next five years. The company is growing at more than 17% now.
The air cargo major will set up over 150 retail shops to cater to demands of customers. It will also add 57 new facilities to its 243 at present across states.
The company posted a net profit of Rs 50.23 crore for the year to December 31, 2006. Income from operations was Rs 668.02 crore. Income from operations for the first half of the year to June 30, 2007 was Rs 369.14 crore, up 19.34% over the year-ago period. On an average, Blue Dart carries 300 tonne per night through almost 62 routes, covering 14,600 locations.