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Coal, car and foreign exchange fluctuations helped Ennore port report improved financial performance in the first half of the current financial year.
The country’s only corporatised major port reported a 63 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 147 crore in the half-year ended September 30 against Rs 90 crore in the same period last year. Revenue increased by 58 per cent to Rs 228 crore (Rs 144 crore).
In the last financial year, the port handled 17.89 million tonnes (mt) of cargo while in the first half of this year it had already handled 12.7 mt against 8 mt in the same period last year – a 58 per cent growth. The port is expected to more than double cargo volume by the year-end, said an official of the port who did not want to be named.
Similarly, last year the port handled 1.45 lakh cars while in the first half it handled 85,000 cars and expects to close the year with 1.60 lakh vehicles, he said.
The official said the port earns vessel-related charges in US dollars, and the rupee depreciation helped the port earn additional revenue.
A research analyst tracking the port sector, who did not want to be quoted, said out of the total 12.7 mt handled in the first half coal was 10.6 mt. While all the ports together grew at 2 per cent, Ennore showed a 58 per cent growth due to increased coal handling for the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.
The port is also getting steady revenue from concessionaires such as IMC group and Chettinad and from car handling, he said.
Being a corporatised port, the Ennore port does not fall under the purview of Tariff Authority of Major Ports. It enjoys the flexibility to determine its own tariff. The port’s healthy financial risk profile is marked by strong operating profitability, good return on capital employed and sizeable net worth. Further, debtor levels are very low because off advance collection from its largest customer Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation, said Crisil Ratings.
The rating agency said the port plans expansion plans to nearly double its capacity to over 60 mt per annum by the end of 2016-17. This will entail large capital expenditure of Rs 1,800 crore, which is likely to be largely debt funded. Any significant cost or time overrun or delay in ramping up operations at the enhanced capacity will have an adverse impact on cash flows and debt protection metrics.
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