Card Expansion Aimed at Evolving Travel

Thomas Cook India has expanded its prepaid foreign exchange card to support 28 currencies, a move designed to meet changing travel preferences among Indians. Travelers increasingly favor short-haul trips and emerging destinations. The updated card allows for direct loading and spending in local currencies, bypassing the need for multiple conversion steps that can increase costs for consumers. The card is now available on both Visa and Mastercard networks.

New Currencies Added to Card

The company has added 16 new denominations, bringing the total supported currencies to 28. These new options include the Chinese Yuan, Vietnamese Dong, Malaysian Ringgit, Indonesian Rupiah, South Korean Won, Philippine Peso, South African Rand, Kuwaiti Dinar, Bahraini Dinar, Qatari Riyal, Omani Riyal, Hong Kong Dollar, Bangladeshi Taka, Swedish Krona, Danish Krone, and Norwegian Krone. These join established currencies like the US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, and Japanese Yen.

Why the Expansion Matters for Travelers

This strategic decision is driven by a trend of Indians traveling more to emerging destinations across Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. By enabling direct transactions in local currencies, Thomas Cook India aims to simplify travel finances and reduce the costs associated with converting money through intermediate currencies. For added convenience, the card can be loaded at retail locations, online, via WhatsApp, or through a partnership with the quick-commerce platform Blinkit, which offers loading in under an hour.

Stock Price Falls Despite New Offering

Despite this product enhancement, Thomas Cook India's stock saw a decline. On Thursday, the share price closed at ₹93.89 on the NSE, down 1.25% from ₹95.08. This comes amid significant underperformance over the past year, with shares dropping over 30% and nearly 37% year-to-date, significantly trailing the Nifty Total Market index. The stock has fluctuated between a 52-week low of ₹86.35 in March 2026 and a 52-week high of ₹188.29. The company has a market capitalization of approximately ₹4,415 crore and a P/E ratio of 17.74.

Competitive Forex Market and Industry Pressures

The foreign exchange card market in India is highly competitive, with major banks like ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, and IndusInd Bank, along with fintech firms and other travel companies, offering similar products. Competitors often provide multicurrency cards with attractive features, sometimes including zero-forex markup rates. For example, Wise offers a travel card supporting over 40 currencies with competitive exchange rates. Thomas Cook India also faces direct pricing competition. The broader travel sector, projected to reach $220 billion by 2030, is increasingly focused on domestic tourism, which constitutes 80% of industry revenue. Emerging trends like sustainable tourism and shorter trips are also reshaping demand.

Investor Concerns and Financial Outlook

The company's sharp stock decline, far exceeding market benchmarks, suggests investor skepticism about its future profitability and growth prospects. Thomas Cook India holds a market capitalization of ₹4,415 crore and a P/E of 17.74, valuations that current market sentiment does not seem to support. A significant stake, 63.83%, is held by Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius), a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings. While Fairfax has a long-term investment strategy in India, some of its associated companies have shown mixed results. The company's Return on Equity (ROE) has been low at 9.11% over the last three years, and it faces a high cost of borrowing. This situation, combined with conflicting analyst ratings, creates significant uncertainty regarding the company's ability to achieve sustained financial gains.

Analyst Views Divided

Analysts hold differing opinions on Thomas Cook India's future performance. While some consensus reports rate the stock as 'Buy' with target prices ranging from INR 99.68 to INR 170.85, other analysts have issued a 'Strong Sell' rating based on a larger volume of assessments. Investors will be watching closely for the company's fiscal year 2026 earnings report, scheduled for May 12, 2026, which is expected to provide key insights into its financial health and future prospects.