APSEZ Q3 net profit declines 12.94% to Rs 1,336 crore, total expenses rise

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Tuesday reported a 12.94 per cent decline in consolidated profit to Rs 1,336.51 crore for the third quarter ended December 2022. 

The country's largest integrated logistics player had clocked a consolidated profit of Rs 1,535.28 crore a year ago,

according to a regulatory filing. Its total consolidated income increased to Rs 5,051.17 crore in the December 2022 quarter from Rs 4,713.37 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's total expenses in October-December 2022 rose to Rs 3,507.18 crore compared to Rs 2,924.30 crore in the year-

ago period. Karan Adani, chief executive officer and whole-time director of APSEZ, said, "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".

APSEZ is targeting FY24 EBITDA of Rs 14,500-15,000 crore, he added.

"Besides an estimated capital expenditure of Rs 4,000-4,500 crore, we are considering total loan repayment and prepayment of around Rs 5,000 crore, which will significantly improve our net debt to EBITDA ratio and bring it closer to 2.5x by March 24," Adani said.

APSEZ's net debt to EBITDA ratio is well within the company's guided range of 3-3.5x, he noted.

The company, in a statement, said it has handled 252.9 MMT (million metric tonnes) of cargo in the first nine months of the

current fiscal.