Q4 Results: Adani Ports’ Profit Meets Estimates

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd.’s quarterly profit rose and met estimates, aided by its higher cargo throughput and foreign exchange gains.

Net profit of the Adani Group flagship company rose 38.69 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,285 crore in the January-March period, the company said in an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 1,297-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

The company posted a foreign exchange gain of Rs 109 crore for the quarter compared to a foreign exchange loss of Rs 220 crore in the corresponding quarter. Other income was up 35 percent to Rs 410 crore on a yearly basis.

The company also reported an exceptional loss of Rs 69 crore due to impairment charges.

Its coal volumes rose 30 percent year-on-year during the quarter, while the cargo volume increased 19 percent. The company also reported a record cargo throughput of 54 million metric tonnes in the three months ended March, according to the filing. Adani Ports in March had said it became the first Indian port operator to record a 200 MMT cargo movement. The company expects its cargo volumes to grow 20-25 percent in the ongoing financial year.

Other Highlights:

(Year-On-Year)

• Revenue fell 3.15 percent to Rs 3,082 crore, compared with the Rs 3,252-crore forecast.
• Operating profit rose less than 0.5 percent to Rs 1,932 crore. Analysts had expected the operating profit to be at Rs 2,068 crore
• Operating margin expanded 200 basis points to 62.68 percent.
• Net debt-to-Ebitda rose to 2.9 times in 2018-19 from 2.5 times a year ago.
• Net debt increased to Rs 20,707 crore in financial year 2018-19 from Rs 17,945 crore in the year-ago period.
• The board said it will consider a dividend and buyback on June 4, with the total payout amount expected to increase regular dividend payout.

In March, the company had said lower sales from its SEZ business may hurt the revenue and operating profit growth through the next three years. It expected the revenue and Ebitda to grow at an annualised rate of 14 percent over financial years 2019-2022, compared with 20 percent in the last three years.

For 2018-19, Adani Ports said its net cash flow from operations after adjusting for change in working capital, capital expenditure and investing activities stood at Rs 1,570 crore.

Shares of Adani Ports closed 0.77 percent higher at Rs 412.55 apiece ahead of the earnings announcement. That compares with a 0.68 percent gain in the benchmark Nifty 50 Index.