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The country’s largest integrated logistics player Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Tuesday reported a 288% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,321 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021 compared to Rs 340.21 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, it said in a BSE filing.

Consolidated total income increased to Rs 4,072.42 crore for the fourth quarter as against Rs 3,360.17 crore in the year-ago period. Total expenses declined to Rs 2,526.91 crore against Rs 3,099.18 crore.

The company’s March-quarter consolidated revenue from operations rose almost 24% to Rs 3,608 crore as against Rs 2,921 crore a year ago. In 2020-21, total operating revenue grew by 6% to Rs 12,550 crore from Rs 11,873 crore in the preceding fiscal. Port revenue also increased by 12% to Rs 10,739 crore on account of an 11% growth in cargo.

Increased cargo volume and operational efficiencies enabled port EBITDA to grow by 15% to Rs.7,560 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 6,593 crore earlier, it said.  In FY21, net debt to EBIDTA was at 3.3 times and within the guided range of 3 to 3.5 times.

In April 2021, APSEZ signed an agreement to acquire balance 25% stake in Krishnapatnam port. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2021-22.

“In March 2021, APSEZ also announced the acquisition of 100% stake in Gangavaram Port. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2021-22, ” the statement said. Upon completion of the transactions, both Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram ports will be wholly-owned subsidiaries of APSEZ.

The company is also developing a transshipment port at Vizhinjam, Kerala and a container terminal in Myanmar.

“FY21 has been a transformational year for APSEZ. Some of the key decisions we took this year have set the foundation for the coming decade. Our customer-centric approach has yielded good result for us as our market share increased by 4% on a pan-India basis,” said Karan Adani, chief executive officer and whole-time director of APSEZ.

Mundra port, which is the largest commercial port in the country, this year also became India’s largest container port, surpassing JNPT by a big leap, he added.

“APSEZ is well on its course to become a truly integrated transport and logistics utility and achieve 500 MMT of cargo throughput and ROCE (return on capital employed) to be in excess of 20% by FY25,” he said.

On the growth side, Adani said the company used this time to complete four large acquisitions — Krishnapatnam port, Gangavaram port, Dighi port and Sarguja rail line, taking its total portfolio to 13 ports in the country.

“The total value of said investment was Rs 26,000 cr. We have also been able to take another milestone step in our international journey by foraying into container terminal in Colombo port. With these steps we are truly in the right direction to take APSEZ from a port company to a transport utility company delivering full logistics solution to our customers,” he said.

Adani further said in the logistics business, the company been able to scale up and diversify its railway rolling stock business. “In FY21 we have also setup a new vertical of Railway track business. With the acquisition of Sarguja Rail (SRCPL) and restructuring of other railway tracks within APSEZ we have set the foundation to partner with Indian railway and invest in strategic rail lines under the PPP model,” he said.

According to Adani, in FY22, the company’s cargo volume is expected to be in the range of 310-320 MMT, which includes 10 MMT of Gangavaram port in Q4 FY22.

“Consolidated revenue to be in the range of Rs 16,000 crore to Rs 16,800 crore, Consolidate EBIDTA to be in the range of Rs 10,200 crore to Rs 10.700 crore and free cash flow to be in the range of Rs 5,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore,” he said.