Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone Ltd.’s profit fell missing estimates in the second quarter as port cargo volumes declined.
Net profit of India’s largest private port operator fell 27% over the preceding quarter to Rs 951.7 crore in the quarter ended September, according to its exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 1,351-crore consensus of analyst estimates tracked by Bloomberg.
Revenue fell 22% sequentially to Rs 3,532.4 crore, against the estimated Rs 3,886 crore. Revenue from the ports business fell 24% to Rs 3,228.5 crore, the company said.
Adani Ports’ cargo volumes in the reported quarter declined 9.7% over the preceding three months to 68.3 million metric tonnes, the filing said.
Highlights (QoQ)
Operating profit rose 1.6% to Rs 2,268 crore, compared with the Rs 2,461-crore forecast.
Operating margin stood at 64.2% from 49%. Analysts had pegged the metric at 63.3%.
“Our strategy of geographic expansion with a focus on higher-growth regions, balancing cargo mix, expansion in the logistics business, particularly rail transportation, and foray into Grade-A warehousing segment reflects our move towards a ‘Transport Utility’ business model and is resulting in a continuous increase in our market share," said Karan Adani, chief executive officer of Adani Ports & SEZ, in the filing.
Outlook
The company has maintained its cargo volume guidance of 350-360 MMT in FY22.
Consolidated revenue is pegged at Rs 18,000-18,800 crore for FY22.
Logistics revenue seen to be around Rs 1,000-1,200 crore, a growth of 25%.
It expects capex of around Rs 3,100-3,500 crore, including maintenance capex of Rs 500 crore.
The company has guided for free cash from operations to be around Rs 7,100-7,600 crore in FY22.