Adani Ports Q1 Results: Profit Dips 26% As Lockdown Hurts Cargo Output
Net profit fell 26% over the same quarter last year to Rs 758 crore.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. reported a decline in quarterly profit as the pandemic-related lockdown resulted in lower handling of cargo at its ports.
Net profit fell 26% over the same quarter last year to Rs 758 crore in the quarter ended June, according to its exchange filing. Analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg had pegged profit at Rs 570 crore.
- Revenue fell 18% to Rs 2,292.7 crore—higher than the estimated Rs 2,163 crore.
- Operating profit fell 28% to Rs 1,328.6 crore.
- Margin narrowed to 57.9% from 65.9% earlier.
Container cargo handling at major ports in India fell sharply due to disruptions from the coroanvirus pandemic hurting earnings for Adani. “Due to all India lockdown imposed from last week of March 2020, cargo throughput witnessed a decline of 27% resulting in 18% decline in consolidated revenue,” it said in a statement.
Lockdown measures to tame the spread of Covid-19 resulted in lower Import and export, impacting cargo throughput in first quarter of FY21.Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone
However, the company said it’s witnessing a gradual recovery in cargo output across ports from July. Adani Ports handled 18.3 million metric tonne of cargo in July, a growth of 6% over last year. “This trend gives us confidence that worst is behind us and going forward cargo volume in FY21 is expected to stabilise,” it said.
The company has also approved raising of Rs 3,000 crore through non-convertible debentures. It has received approval from the Competition Commission of India to acquire the Krishnapatnam Port—expected to be complete in the second quarter of the ongoing financial year.
Shares of Adani Ports closed 1.1% higher ahead of the quarterly results, while the benchmark BSE Sensex ended 0.6% up.