Adani Ports shares gain 2% on plan to develop multipurpose terminal at Deendayal Port

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) rose nearly 2% in opening trade on Thursday after the ports and logistics arm of Adani Group signed an agreement with state-owned Deendayal Port Authority to develop a multipurpose terminal at the port located in Gujarat's Kandla. The country’s biggest private port operator says that the terminal will handle multipurpose cargo and is expected to be commissioned in FY27.

Reacting to the news, Adani Ports shares opened higher at ₹1,440, up 0.7% against the previous closing price of ₹1,430.20 on the BSE. In the early trade so far, APSEZ shares gained as much as 1.8% to ₹1,456.05, while the market capitalisation rose to ₹3.14 lakh crore.

At the current level, the Adani group stock trades nearly 10% lower than its 52-week high of ₹1,607.95 touched on June 3, 2024. The stock has nearly doubled from its 52-week low of ₹754.50 touched on October 26, 2023. In the last one year, the counter gained nearly 70%, while it added 39% in the calendar year 2024. The stock has added 12% in six months, whereas it lost 3% in a month.

In an exchange filing last evening, Adani Ports said that it signed a concession agreement with Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) to develop Berth No. 13 at Deendayal Port, Kandla, Gujarat. In July this year, the company was awarded the letter of intent (LOI) to develop the berth under a 30-year concession. Berth No. 13 is 300m long and offers 5.7 million metric tonnes (MMT) capacity annually. 

“APSEZ will develop the berth under DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer) model for multipurpose clean cargo, including container cargo,” the company said in a BSE filing.

“Berth No. 13 will diversify our presence at Deendayal Port. We will now handle multipurpose clean cargo at the port, in addition to dry bulk cargo that we already handle. The berth will further consolidate our position on the western coast and enhance our ability to service customers in Gujarat and north India,” said Ashwani Gupta, Whole-time Director and CEO, APSEZ. 

Last month, APSEZ incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, DPA Container and Clean Cargo Terminal Limited (DPACCCTL), to carry out operations at the berth.  The subsidiary has been established with authorised and paid-up share capital of ₹5 lakh divided into 50,000 equity shares of ₹10 each. The objective of the entity is to carry out the projects such as development, operation and maintenance of Berth No.13 for handling multipurpose clean cargo including container cargo at Deendayal Port on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis.

Besides, it recently signed a deal to acquire 80% stake in Astro Offshore, a global offshore support vessel (OSV) operator in the Middle East, India, Far East Asia, and Africa. The acquisition will be done in an all-cash deal for $185 million. The deal is part of Adani Ports’ roadmap to become one of the world’s largest marine operators.

APSEZ has 7 strategically located ports and terminals on the west coast (Mundra, Tuna, Dahej, and Hazira in Gujarat, Mormugao in Goa, Dighi in Maharashtra and Vizhinjam in Kerala) and 8 ports and terminals on the East coast (Haldia in West Bengal, Dhamra and Gopalpur in Odisha, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kattupalli and Ennore in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal in Puducherry), representing 27% of the country's total port volumes. The company is also developing a transshipment port at Colombo, Sri Lanka and operates the Haifa Port in Israel and Container Terminal 2 at Dar Es Salaam Port, Tanzania.

(DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed by investment experts on fortuneindia.com are either their own or of their organisations, but not necessarily that of fortuneindia.com and its editorial team. Readers are advised to consult certified experts before taking investment decisions.)