Adani Ports ends FY23 with 9% growth; records largest-ever cargo volume

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Group, ended FY23 on a positive note, with its cargo volumes clocking a 9% year-on-year (YoY) growth at 339 MT (million tonnes) for the fiscal year ended on March 31, 2023, the company says in a regulatory filing. According to Adani Ports, this is the largest ever cargo volume ever recorded by the Gautam Adani-led company. In March, the company registered a 9.5% YoY growth by handling 32 million tonnes of cargo volumes. For the first time since July 2022, the volumes crossed the 30 million tonne mark.

"The improvement in cargo volumes is testimony to the faith that our customers have in us. It shows our commitment to using improved efficiencies and technological integrations to drive and achieve customer satisfaction. The APSEZ’s flagship port, Mundra, is outpacing all its closest rivals and continues to be the largest port in the nation in terms of volumes handled. Mundra’s infrastructure meets world standards and provides service levels on par with those of its global competitors, making it India’s gateway for container goods," says Karan Adani, CEO and Director, APSEZ.

The overall container volumes handled by Adani Ports in India jumped 5% YoY to approximately 8.6 MTUs (million twenty-foot equivalent units) including approximately 6.6 MTUs at Mundra Port alone. Mundra Port handled a total cargo of 155 million tonnes in FY23. The container rakes handled during the year surged 24% YoY, thus achieving a new milestone by crossing 500,000 TEUs, while the bulk cargo transported exceeded 14 million tonnes, implying 62% Y-o-Y jump. According to the company, Mundra Port handled the deepest container vessel – MSC Washington with an arrival draft of 17.0 meters – ever handled by any Indian port, and the largest vessel, MSC Fatma, with a vessel length of 366 m and carrying capacity of 15,194 TEUs. The port also docked its first LNG-fueled vessel, Aframax Crude Oil Tanker, at its SPM facility. The draft is 14 meters long with a total displacement of 1,26,810 MT.

"Mundra has the fastest turnaround time for vessels allowing ships to berth immediately. With a focus on improving operational efficiencies along with customer-oriented initiatives, it has achieved remarkable feats and created new benchmarks. It handled the highest-ever RO-RO volume of 2.09 lakh cars in this financial year as compared to the previous high of 1.87 lakh. This rise is the result of the confidence shown by the long-time customer Maruti Suzuki India Limited," the company says.

This financial year witnessed APSEZ  the count of ships docked stood at 6,573, rakes serviced stood at 40,482, and the trucks, trailers and tankers handled stood at 48,89,941. Adani Ports serviced 3,068 customers across its different business units.

"Increase in cargo volume at ports reflects country’s economic prosperity. Almost 95% of the trade volumes in India are carried through maritime transport. So, having world-class mega ports is imperative for the Indian coastline. APSEZ has strategically built a string of ports across the Indian coastline along with ICDs (inland container depots) and warehouses, woven intricately with self-owned rakes, covering around 90% of the country’s hinterland," the company says.

Following the development, shares of Adani Ports on Wednesday surged 1.8% to hit an intraday high of ₹639.55 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Early today, the share price of Adani Ports opened lower at ₹625.80 as against the closing price of the previous session at ₹627.75. The market capitalisation stood at ₹ 1,37,492 crore as 2,68,399 shares exchanged hands on the BSE as against the two-week average of 7.72 lakh shares. The company hit a 52-week high of ₹987 on September 9, 2022, and hit a 52-week low of ₹394.95 on February 3, 2023.