Adani Ports Q1 net profit zooms 83% on the back of fresh acquisitions

The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in Israel in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone on August 8 reported a 82.57 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,114.72 crore for the quarter ended June 2023 from Rs 1,158.28 crore reported last year.

The company's revenue from operations climbed 23.51 percent to Rs 6,247.55 crore from Rs 5,058.09 crore a year back. The company's topline saw a positive impact from additional revenue generated by fresh acquisitions.

Earlier in the year, Adani Ports paid $1.2 billion to acquire the Haifa port in Israel. The Port of Haifa is the second largest port in the country in terms of shipping containers and the biggest in shipping tourist cruise ships.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter increased by 80 percent YoY to Rs 3,765 crore, the company said in a release. Cargo volume grew 12 percent YoY to over 101 MMT, supported by containers growth of 15 percent.

Adani Ports’ market share in India jumped around 200bps to 26 percent, it said.

“APSEZ delivered its strongest ever quarterly operating performance during Q1 FY24, with highest ever quarterly cargo volumes, revenue, EBITDA and around 200bps jump in domestic market share, despite over 50 percent of the company’s total port capacity being adversely impacted for around 6 days due to the cyclone Biparjoy,” said Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

APSEZ’s domestic cargo volumes recorded 8 percent YoY increase, which is 3x India’s cargo volume growth rate in the same period. Mundra handled 1.72 Mn TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) in Q1 FY24, which is 12 percent higher than its closest competitor. Krishnapatnam Port recorded strong volumes by handling 5 MMT cargo volumes in all the three months of the quarter

Adani said that the company’s “continuous efforts on improving operational efficiencies” have resulted in
domestic ports business EBITDA margin of 72 percent and logistics business EBITDA margin of 28 percent, which is higher than the reported margins of listed peers from India.

“Our newly acquired assets, Haifa Port and Karaikal Port, have ramped up well with monthly cargo volumes now touching 1 MMT mark at the two ports,” he added.

Guidance for FY24
Adani Ports expects cargo volumes at 370-390 MMT resulting in a revenue of Rs 24,000-25,000 crore and EBITDA of Rs 14,500-15,000 Cr. Total capex during the year is expected to be Rs 4,000-4,500 crore.