Essar Ports (EPL) reported a 3% rise in its fiscal second quarter profit to R40.84 crore signalling a muted growth as Indian companies produced lesser goods to export and sourced fewer raw materials. The company reported a net profit of R39.61 crore in the fiscal first quarter.
The company, carved out from Essar Shipping Ports and Logistics in October and listed in March this year, saw its revenues dip 1.6% to R273.97 crore in the reporting quarter as against R278.46 crore in the fiscal first quarter. Year on year numbers cannot be compared as the business was split.
?Ports performance cannot be measured on a sequential basis as its an infrastructure project and needs its own time to start showing results,? Rajiv Agarwal, EPL?s managing director said.
Despite the global economic slow down, the company is going ahead with its expansion. EPL will expand its port capacity by 80% to R156 million metric tonne per annum or MMTPA by fiscal 2014.
EPL earnings from a tonne of goods it carried increased to R233 for the first 6 months from R174 as it increased port handling charges in the first quarter.
To convert loans into dollars
Essar Ports is planning to convert rupee loans into dollar loans to take advantage of last month?s liberalisation of external commercial borrowings (ECB) by infrastructure companies. The company has total loans of R5,014.17 crore as on September 30 of which over R1,700 crore is for project development and the balance is for operations.