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JSW Infrastructure reported 9 per cent drop in net profit in the first quarter of FY25 hit by expenses, though revenue rose 15 per cent on higher volumes driven by recently-acquired assets.
The company reported a net profit of ₹292 crore on revenue of ₹1,010 crore. It handled 27.8 million tonnes (mt) of cargo, up 9 per cent on year driven by assets such as PNP and liquid terminal in the UAE, increase in utilisation at Paradip coal terminal and iron ore. The revenue growth was also driven by an increase in the cargo volume and a change in the realisation mix.
EBITDA rose a fourth to ₹609 crore.
At the ports of Dharamtar and Jaigarh volumes were affected by the planned maintenance shutdowns at the Dolvi steel making facility of group firm and customer JSW Steel.
About half of the company’s cargo volumes were due to third-party customers, compared with 37 per cent year ago, as the company becomes less reliant on its group companies to drive volumes. In the current year, the company expects 10-12 per cent in volume growth.
The company ended the quarter with cash and bank balances of ₹4,571 crore and gross debt of ₹4,376 crore.
Navkar acquisition
During the quarter under review, the company acquired a major stake in Navkar Corp at an enterprise value of ₹1,644 crore to boost logistics for last-mile connectivity.
“Our vision is to become a complete solutions provider not only in ports infrastructure but also in distribution and logistics. We will increase this business more robustly and integrate with other locations as well,” the management said in an earnings call. Inland logistics was a big and growing sector and synergistic to the ports business. The management said if more opportunities such as Navkar came up, the company would not be averse to pursuing it.
In the quarter, the port operator also received a letter of acceptance from Southern Railway for construction and operation of Gati Shakti Multi Modal Cargo Terminal at Arakkonam in Chennai. This is a 35-year contract and construction is expected to commence in about three months. The project would be completed in 18 months and would incur a capex of ₹150 crore.
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