Adani Ports Q1 net up 51% at Rs 417.50 crore

Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) today reported 51 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 417.50 crore during the first quarter as its flagship Mundra Port became number one commercial port in the country during the quarter, surpassing Kandla Port.

The Adani group company had reported a net profit of Rs 276.26 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Consolidated net sales of the company stood at Rs 1,446.86 crore during the quarter vis-a-vis Rs 879.32 crore of the Q1FY'13, as cargo handling at the Mundra Port increased by 35 per cent at 23.59 million tonnes.

In a statement, Adani Ports said that apart from increase in cargo handling, its container volume was also up 11 per cent and the growth in cargo and container traffic was achieved when all other major ports achieved a de-growth of 1 per cent in cargo and 4 per cent in container volume.

With the increase, Mundra Port also achieved the numero uno position among the commercial ports in the country, it said.

"We take pride in Mundra Port emerging as the largest port, outperforming all the commercial ports in India. Adani Ports, with its innovative practices and service standards, will continue to contribute in overall growth of Indian port infrastructure sector," company chairman Gautam Adani said.

The low cost operating model of the company helped it in posting good performance during the quarter as its expenditure and finance cost increased significantly. While expenditure, at Rs 773.36 crore, amounted to 53.46 per cent of the net sales, finance costs shot up by over 142 per cent to Rs 350.59 crore.

During the quarter, the company also raised Rs 1,000 crore via institutional placement programme and met regulatory norms of having 25 per cent minimum public shareholding. Besides, it also handled largest container vessel, MSC Valeria with a capacity of 14,036 TEUs, to call at any Indian port.

"It gives us immense pleasure to state that Adani Ports continues to outperform in cargo volume and has established its leadership position in the sector. Our growth will further get impetus from the newly commercialised port at Hazira," company's Chief Financial Officer B Ravi said.

Adani's Hazira port handled a cargo of 0.87 MT and Dahej port's cargo volume was 2.22 MT in the first quarter.

On a standalone basis, Adani Ports' net profit was up 58.49 per cent at Rs 663.15 crore, while its net sales increased by over 111 per cent to Rs 1,638.78 crore during the quarter.

Following the results, company shares were trading up 8.17 per cent at Rs 135.65 apiece on the BSE at 1410 hours.