Blue Dart Express Share Price Jumps After Announcing Price Hike

Blue Dart Express Ltd.'s share price jumped over 7% on Tuesday after it announced its price hike which will be effective from Jan. 1, 2025. It hiked its average general price in the range of 9–12% depending on product varieties and shipping profile.

The price adjustment for 2025 is part of Blue Dart Express's annual review of pricing structure, and it entails inflationary adjustment and cost rationalisation, the logistic company said in an exchange filing on Monday.

The annual price adjustment practice are designed to partly cover spiraling long-term cost, and infrastructure costs, while supporting customers with customised and seamless deliveries, the filing said.

Blue Dart Express Ltd.'s shares jumped 7.16%, the highest level since Sept. 18, before paring gains to trade 6.33% higher at Rs 8,724.00 apiece as of 11:46 a.m., compared to a flat NSE Nifty 50.

The stock gained 27.91% in 12 months and 17.98% year-to-date. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 20 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 59.73.

Out of nine analysts tracking the company, five maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommends a 'hold' and three suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies a downside of 9.0%.

Blue Dart Express' share price was the lead gainer among logistics companies' stocks on Tuesday. After its price hike announcement, markets may expect similar such move from other logistics companies, which supported other stocks.

However, logistics companies' share prices were trading on a mixed note on Tuesday. After Blue Dart Express, Mahindra Logistics Ltd. and Allcargo Logistics Ltd., were the top gainers.

Meanwhile, Western Carriers (India) Ltd., and AVG Logistics Ltd. were the top losers among peers.

The market-cap of the logistics companies declined Rs 1,221.40 crore to Rs 86,323.64 crore as of 11:45 a.m.

If other logistics firms follow suit with price hikes, the cost will increase across industry. The e-commerce sector could be the most vulnerable to such price adjustment, followed by other domestic and international businesses which rely heavily on logistics business.

Meanwhile, businesses which assist people in shifting from one place to other are also likely to feel the brunt of the price hikes.

Thus, such companies' stock could see secondary negative impact of the move.