Adani Ports Q1 net profit drops 17 pc to ₹1,091.56 cr

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Monday reported a 16.86 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to ₹1,091.56 crore for the first quarter of the current financial year despite record cargo volumes.The country’s largest integrated logistics player had clocked a consolidated net profit of ₹1,312.9 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing.Its total income during the June quarter rose to ₹5,099.25 crore, as against ₹5,073 crore in Q1 FY22.The company’s total expenses also increased to ₹4,174.24 crore from ₹3,660.28 crore earlier.APSEZ said it recorded its highest-ever quarterly cargo of 91 MMT (million metric tonnes).The growth in cargo volume was led by dry cargo (11.2 per cent increase), followed by containers (3.2 per cent), and liquids including crude (5.6 per cent). The automobile segment, though a small proportion of overall volumes, saw a 120 per cent jump in volumes.Both the Mundra and non-Mundra ports had a similar growth rate. The non-Mundra ports contributed 53 per cent to the cargo basket, the company added.In a statement, Karan Adani, chief executive officer and whole-time director of APSEZ, said, “Q1 FY23 has been the strongest quarter in APSEZ’s history, with a record cargo volume and highest ever quarterly EBITDA.”Adani further said the company continued the strong performance in July and recorded 100 MMT of cargo through-put in the initial 99 days of FY23.”We are confident of achieving our full year guidance of 350-360 MMT cargo volumes and EBITDA of ₹12,200-12,600 crore,” he added.According to the company statement, Adani Logistics registered a 31 per cent year-on-year growth in rail volume to 111,136 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) and a 54 per cent jump in terminal volume to 99,217 TEUs.Adani Ports and Gadot Group consortium (70:30 partnership) won the bid for acquisition of 100 per cent stake in Haifa Port Company at a bid value of USD 1.13 billion.”We anticipate the deal to be 75 per cent debt financed, and APSEZ’s equity contribution to be around ₹1600 crore,” it said, adding this deal marks APSEZ’s entry into a developed market, in the busy Suez Canal, and will also help the company expand its footprint in Europe.APSEZ further said liquid cargo at Krishnapatnam port was impacted due to drop in sunflower oil imports from Ukraine on account of the ongoing conflict.The container terminal at Gangavaram Port will become operational next month, while the 5 MMT LNG terminal at Dhamra will be ready by December-end, APSEZ added.It said construction has been initiated on 4.5 million square feet of warehousing capacity across four locations (Mundra, Moriya, Ranoli and Palwal), and two agri container terminals in Bihar (Darbhanga and Samastipur).Revenue from the logistics business stood at ₹360 crore, a growth of 34 per cent, on account of improving container and terminal traffic and also the bulk segment with overall increase in the rolling stock.APSEZ further said it has acquired 100 per cent stake in Ocean Sparkle Ltd (OSL). OSL is expected to generate a revenue of ₹633 crore and EBITDA of ₹355 crore in the current financial year.APSEZ is part of the globally diversified Adani Group.