APSEZ Q4 net profit rises 2.63 pc to Rs 1,140.97 cr

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Tuesday reported a 2.63 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,140.97 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023.

The country's largest integrated logistics player had clocked a consolidated net profit of Rs 1,111.63 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the company said in a BSE filing.

Its consolidated total income increased to Rs 6,179.12 crore for the fourth quarter of the last fiscal against Rs 4,739.08 crore in the year-ago period.

The total expenses also rose to Rs 3,993.62 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,497.49 crore a year ago.

During the last fiscal, APSEZ's net profit rose to 5,392.75 crore from Rs 4,953.18 crore in FY22.

APSEZ Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director Karan Adani said FY23 has been a stellar year for APSEZ in operational and financial performance.

''The company has overachieved against its highest-ever revenue and EBITDA guidance provided at the beginning of the year.

''Our strategy of geographical diversification, cargo mix diversification, and business model transition to a transport utility is enabling robust growth,'' he noted.

The company, in a statement, said APSEZ did record investments of around Rs 27,000 crore in FY23, which includes six major acquisitions totalling around Rs 18,000 crore and organic capex of around Rs 9,000 crore.

''These investments were primarily financed through internal accruals and the cash and cash equivalents held with the company.

''As a result, gross debt to fixed asset ratio has declined sharply from 80 per cent in FY19 to around 60 per cent in FY23,'' it added.

According to the statement, the investments made along with the five bid wins during the year will enable APSEZ to achieve its targeted cargo volumes of 500 MMT in 2025 and speed up the transition of the business model to a transport utility.

APSEZ recorded its highest-ever port cargo volumes at 339 MMT in FY23, which is a good 9 per cent year-on-year jump.

The statement said despite a record annual investment of around Rs 27,000 crore, APSEZ has managed to maintain the net debt to EBITDA ratio at 3.1x (guided range of 3-3.5x).

''In April 2023, APSEZ also announced the launch of the bond buyback programme. The first tranche of buyback of USD 130 Mn notes, which are due in June 2024, is already completed. More such buybacks are likely in the coming quarters,'' it added.

According to the statement, the promoters have pre-paid the fund-based loans raised through pledging APSEZ shares, resulting in a reduction of pledged shares to 4.66 per cent as on March 31, 2023, vs 17.31 per cent as on December 31, 2022.

For FY23, the statement said, the APSEZ board has recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per share in line with our capital allocation policy.

This implies a payout of around Rs 1,080 crore for the company, the statement added.

While noting that cargo volumes in FY24 are expected at 370-390 MMT, resulting in a revenue of Rs 24,000-25,000 crore and EBITDA of Rs 14,500-15,000 crore, the statement said, adding ''total capex during the year is expected to be Rs 4,000-4,500 crore''.

Mundra continues to be the largest commercial port of India with cargo volumes of 155 MMT, it added.