Coal news and updates

Adani Ports & SEZ Q3 net profit up 15%

January 27: Adani Port and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) Limited reported a 15% increase in net profit (standalone) at Rs 477.05 crore in the third quarter (Q3) ended December 2013, compared to Rs 415.43 crore reported in the same quarter a year ago, backed by higher cargo handling during the period, the company said in a statement.

During the period, consolidated net profit stood at Rs 451 crore compared to Rs 361 crore in Q3 of 2012-13, registering a growth of 25%.

Commenting on the results, B Ravi, Chief Financial Officer, APSEZ, said, "We had robust cargo volumes at all our operational ports. Our focus on improving processes and innovation will enable us to have long-term sustainable growth. Diversified cargo growth with completion of other ports will provide additional thrust to the growth in the ensuing period, resulting in better financial performance."

Consolidated cargo handling for the APSEZ increased 21% to 29.14 million tons (mt) during the period under review compared to 21.40 mt cargo handled during the same period last year, said a statement from the company.

For the first nine months of 2013-14, consolidated net profit of the company stood at Rs 1,210 crore compared to Rs 913 crore during the same period last year while total income for the period increased by 53% to Rs 4,219 crore from Rs 2,759 crore during the same period in 2012-13. Cargo handling during the period stood at 83.90 mt as against 65.04 mt in the first nine months of last year, the company statement added.

The port handled 74.73 mt of cargo during the first nine months of the year, registering an increase of 26% compared to a growth of 2% for cargo at all major ports. In case of containers, the port handled 1.68 million TEUs with 33% growth as compared to a de-growth of 4% in container volumes at all major ports.

During the first nine months of 2013-14, Mundra Port handled the highest coal volume at 27.09 mt in surpassing Paradip  Port (23.91 mt), while  the port's total cargo handling stood at  26.52 mt, registering a growth of  24% in Q3 of 2013-14 compared to growth of 1% at all major ports. In case of containers, 0.64 million TEUs were handled with 57% growth as compared to a de-growth of 3% for at all major ports.

Following are the Q3 results of APSEZ in 2013-14 and 2012-13 (in Rs crore):