- With ~24% market share in 9M FY23, APSEZ is India’s largest private sector port company
- Revenue increased by 16% Y-o-Y to Rs 15,055 Cr in 9M FY23
- Port revenue increased by 22% and Logistics revenue increased by 43%
- EBITDA increased by 19% Y-o-Y to Rs 9,562 Cr
- Port EBIDTA increased by 20% and Logistics EBIDTA increased by 66%
- With Port EBITDA margin at 70%, APSEZ is one of the most profitable amongst global peers
- PAT increased by 11% Y-o-Y to Rs 4,252 Cr
- Transactions concluded for Haifa Port Company, Indian Oiltanking Ltd. (IOTL) & ICD Tumb
According to the company’s website press release on February 7, 2023, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (“APSEZ”), announced its results for the third quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2022.
# EBITDA excludes the impact of forex mark-to-market loss and the 9M FY22 also excludes one time transaction cost of Rs 210 Cr for SRCPL/GPL
** PAT for 3QFY23 is lower to 3QFY22 due to a higher forex mark-to-market loss (Rs 315 Cr in 3Q FY23 vs. Rs 13 Cr in 3QFY22); For 9M, the PAT includes forex mark-to-market loss of Rs 1,886 Cr in 9M FY23 vs. Rs 348 Cr in 9M FY22
With the highest ever revenue and EBITDA over a nine-month period, ASPEZ is well placed to achieve the upper end of its full year revenue and EBITDA guidance provided for FY23. The company also concluded the transactions of Haifa Port Company, IOTL, ICD Tumb, Ocean Sparkle, and Gangavaram Port, and is progressing well on transitioning its business model to a transport utility, said Mr. Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.
Continuing with our growth journey, APSEZ is targeting FY24 EBITDA of Rs 14,500-15,000 Cr. Besides an estimated capital expenditure of INR 4,000-4,500 Cr, we are considering total loan repayment and prepayment of around Rs 5,000 Cr, which will significantly improve our Net Debt to EBITDA ratio and bring it closer to 2.5x by March 24” added Mr. Karan Adani.
Robust Operational Performance: During 9M FY23, APSEZ handled ~24% of the country’s total cargo and retained its leadership position of being the India’s largest port operator. Port EBITDA grew 20% Y-o-Y to Rs 9562 Cr, on the back of strong improvement in realizations and cargo volume growth. With port EBITDA margin at ~70%, APSEZ continues to be one of the most profitable port companies globally. Given our increased focus of providing supply chain solutions to our customers at their door step our logistics business segment is experiencing a phenomenal growth. EBITDA of logistics business segment jumped 66% Y-o-Y to Rs 354 Cr, supported by margin expansion of 400bps with improved utilization of assets and increased share of the GPWIS revenue stream.
Strong Capital Structure: APSEZ’s net debt to EBITDA ratio is well within our guided range of 3-3.5x, while our gearing ratio is below one. The performance across various debt covenants has been better than the desired levels. We have an impeccable track record of fulfilling our debt obligations, and our internal accruals enable us to meet the scheduled debt repayment for any of the financial years without any major challenges.
Well positioned for growth with multiple catalysts: We are confident of continuing our strong performance in the coming quarters given the presence of various catalysts, particularly the operational ramp up of facilities commissioned/acquired in the last few months:
In the port business segment, the new additions include- (i) the Haifa Port Company in Israel (~20 MMT), (ii) new container terminal at Gangavaram (6 lakh TEU), (iii) liquid storage tanks at Katupalli, (iv) 5 MMT LNG terminal at Dhamra in April 2023, and (v) Karaikal Port (17.5 MMT), for which APSEZ has received the LoI, subject to NCLT approval.
New assets in the logistics business segment include- (i) recently acquired ICD Tumb (one of India’s largest with a capacity of 0.5 MTEUs), (ii) Taloja MMLP, (iii) three agri-silo terminals, (iv) warehousing capacity of 0.6 Mn sq. ft, (v) 12 new trains and (vi) Kila Raipur MMLP, which restarted operations ~12 months back.
KEY BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS – 9M FY23 (YoY)
Operational Highlights
Ports Business
- APSEZ handled 252.9 MMT of cargo which is 8% Y-o-Y growth.
- The growth in cargo volume was led by coal (+23% increase), liquid (excl. crude) (+8% increase) and containers (+5% increase). The automobile segment, though a small proportion of overall volumes, saw a 22% jump in volumes.
- Mundra continues to be the largest container handling port with 4.88 Mn TEUs versus 4.45 Mn TEUs managed by JNPT during 9M FY23.
- Mundra Port registered 100 MMT of cargo handling in 231 days. The port has shown the fastest growth in India’s ports sector surpassing all the Government as well as private commercial ports of India.
- The non-Mundra ports volumes grew at 12% Y-o-Y while Mundra growth rate was 4%; the share of non-Mundra ports increased to 54% in the cargo basket from 52% during 9M FY22.
Logistics Business
- Adani Logistics registered a 26% Y-o-Y growth in rail volume to 358,162 TEUs and a 31% Y-o-Y growth in terminal volume to 276,599 TEUs.
- The GPWIS cargo volumes grew by 70% Y-o-Y to 9.73 MMT.
- Total rakes count increases to 87 with the addition of 12 bulk trains during 9M FY23.
Bids Won
- Mechanization of Berth 2 at Haldi Dock Complex
- LOA from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to build 70 silos, which would take our total silo capacity to 4 MMT
- H1 bidder for Loni ICD and Valvada ICD, which will take our total MMLP count to 11.
- LOI to develop a deep-sea port at Tajpur, West Bengal
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Revenue
- Consolidated revenue grew by 16% Y-o-Y to Rs 15,055 Cr.
- Cargo volume growth, and improved realization enabled port revenue increase of 22% to Rs 12,903 Cr.
- Revenue of the logistics business stood at Rs 1,211 Cr, implying a growth of 43% on account of improvement in traffic across all segments (Rail, Terminal, GPWIS scheme) coupled with acquisition of Tumb ICD.
EBITDA
- Consolidated EBITDA grew by 19% to Rs 9,562 Cr on the back of revenue growth for the Ports and Logistics business and operational efficiency measures.
- Ports EBITDA grew 20% to Rs 8,973 Cr on the back of growth in port revenues.
- Logistics business EBIDTA grew by 66% to Rs 354 Cr, and the margin expanded by ~400 bps to 29.3%. This was aided by increase in cargo volumes, cargo diversification, and improved utilization rate.
APSEZ’s Risk Management Approach
- During the last quarter, the Company has reassessed its risk management approach towards foreign currency exposure.
- The Company has natural hedge i.e., sufficient future dollar linked revenue to meet the maturity date cash flows on debt in a financial year.
- The Company has applied (i) active hedging and (ii) designation of the bonds against natural hedge from future revenues.
- Pursuant to hedge designation, the company has recorded a part of the MTM FX losses amounting Rs 642 Cr (net of tax) directly in the Other Comprehensive Income, which will be moved to income statement in the year the designated forecasted sales occur.
Guidance for FY2023
- Revenue of Rs 19,200 -19,800 Cr
- EBIDTA in range of Rs 12,200-12,600 Cr
- Net Debt to EBITDA in range of 3-3.5x
Guidance for FY2024
- EBIDTA for the period to be Rs 14,500-15,000 Cr
- Capex during the period to be Rs 4,000-4,500 Cr
- Loan payments /prepayments of Rs 5,000 Cr (including bonds)
- Net Debt to EBITDA to be reduced to ~2.5x
ESG Highlights
- Moody’s ESG solutions has accorded first position to APSEZ in the global rankings for “Transport & Logistics” sector among emerging markets (Oct-22).
- APSEZ’s ranks 1st among 59 Indian companies, and 9th rank among 844 companies in the Emerging Markets globally across all sectors/ industries, in Moody’s ESG assessment (Oct-22)
- APSEZ was ranked amongst top 10 from 297 companies in the Global Transportation & Transportation Infra sector in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (Oct-22)
- Sustainalytics has ranked APSEZ 4th among 45 companies in marine port sector globally. Overall, APSEZ is placed in top 96 percentile among companies across all the sectors globally
- Intensity improvements: In 9M FY23, emission intensity reduction of 41% and water intensity reduction of 56% from the base year FY2016. The renewable electricity share of electricity in 9M FY23 is around 13%.
- Progress on fuel switch: Out of 13 diesel cranes at Krishnapatnam Port, electrification of 4 was completed. Purchase order for 338 electric ITVs has been placed, out of which 304 nos. have been delivered.
- Carbon offsetting: APSEZ issued fresh work orders for 800 Ha of mangrove plantation given the increase in its afforestation target to 5,000 Ha.
- Net-zero planning process: We are formulating our net zero plan for submission to the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi).
OTHER BUSINESS UPDATES
Completed the following acquisitions:
- Haifa Port Company, Israel’s largest port operator
- Ocean Sparkle, India’s leading third-party marine services provider
- Gangavaram Port, India’s third largest non-major port
- India Oiltanking Limited, one of the India’s largest third-party liquid tank storage players
- ICD Tumb, one of India’s largest with a capacity of 0.5 MTEUs
Awards
- APSEZ was recognized by the Chief Minister of Gujarat for its initiative on plastic waste collection from the villages around Mundra and its sustainable disposal.
- Adani Logistics has been awarded the ‘Best Rail Freight Service Provider’ and ‘Best Logistics Infrastructure and Service provider’ by the Government of India during the first-ever National Logistics Excellence Awards to private sector companies for its contribution in driving change and innovation in the logistics sector.
- APSEZ Mundra received "Gold Award for Environment Improvement" from the Sustainable Development Foundation.
- AVPPL received award under Environment Protection Category during the 22nd Greentech Environment Awards 2022
- Dhamra Port won the "Annual Greentech Environment Award 2022”
- MIDPL received 12th Exceed Energy Efficiency Award – Diamond Award.
- Adani Ennore Container Terminal Pvt Ltd received the Platinum Award under Energy Efficiency category of ‘Apex India Green Leaf Award 2021’.
- Adani Mormugao Port Terminal Pvt Ltd received the Gold Award under Energy Efficiency category from ‘Apex India Foundation’, Delhi.
- Dahej Port received an award in the 4th Surat Chapter Convention on Quality Concepts (SCCQC-2022) and one gold award in the KAIZEN.