Adani Ports Q4 results: Net profit rises 5% to Rs 1,159 cr, firm declares Rs 5 dividend

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd on Tuesday reported 5% increase in net profit at Rs 1,159 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2023. It reported net profit of Rs 1,103 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's revenue from operations rose 40% to Rs 5,797 crore in Q4FY23 as against Rs 4,141 crore in Q4FY22.

On Tuesday, Adani Ports' scrip on BSE closed 0.4% lower at Rs 734.3. For FY23, the APSEZ Board has recommended a dividend of Rs 5 per share, which implies a payout of around Rs 1,080 crore for the company.

"FY23 has been a stellar year for APSEZ in operational as well as 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," said Karan Adani, CEO and whole-time director of APSEZ.

"Over the last 5 years, APSEZ’s revenue and EBITDA have grown at a CAGR of 16-18%, while the company’s domestic market share jumped 800bps to 24% in FY23. APSEZ did record investments of around Rs 27,000 crore in FY23, which includes six major acquisitions totaling 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% in FY19 to around 60% in FY23. 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,” added Karan Adani.

Losses stemming from the sale of Myanmar port project impacted Adani Ports' fourth-quarter profit.

Adani Ports had earlier this month said it sold its sanction-hit Myanmar port for $30 million, significantly lower than its investment in the project.

The company said the sale consideration was revised from $260 million, resulting in an impairment loss of Rs 1,273 crore. Despite that, it kept its capital expenditure guidance at Rs 4,000-Rs 4,500 crore for financial year ending March 30.

The company said it expects cargo volumes at 370-390 million metric tonnes, resulting in a revenue of Rs 24,000-Rs 25,000 crore and core earnings of Rs 14,500-Rs 15,000 crore in 2023-24.

"The promoters have pre-paid the fund-based loans raised through pledging of APSEZ shares, resulting in reduction of pledged shares to 4.66% as on March 31, 2023 versus 17.31% as on December 31, 2022," said APSEZ in a stock exchange filing.

Adani Ports was one of several Adani group companies that was caught in the eye of a storm since Jan. 24 when US-based short seller Hindenburg Research raised concerns on the conglomerate's debt levels and use of tax havens.

However, Sebi has "drawn a blank" in its probe into suspected violations in overseas investments and its ongoing pursuit of the case could be a "journey without a destination", a Supreme Court-appointed panel had said.