Last Updated: November 17, 2023, 14:37 IST
Shares of JSW Infrastructure, one of India’s leading commercial port companies, spiked up nearly 8.5 per cent to an all time high of Rs 220 on the BSE in Friday’s intraday trade, on the back of heavy volumes, after the company said it has received a Letter of Award (LoA) to develop Keni Port in Karnataka for Rs 4,119 crore.
JSW Infrastructure said on November 16 it received letter of award (LOA) for the development of Keni greenfield port in Karnataka. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 4,119 crore with initial capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), the company said in a press release.
“Once developed, the Keni port is expected to crucially address the rising import and export trade momentum of the region,” said JSW Infrastructure’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Arun Maheshwari.
The proposed Keni port would have modern environment-friendly mechanized facilities for handling of cape-size vessels, the company said adding that it will be built to serve the industries in the area covering Bellary, Hosapete, Hubballi, Kalaburagi and South Maharashtra, the ports arm of Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group said in the statement.
The stock of India’s second largest commercial port company, and part of JSW Group was trading at its highest level since its market debut on October 3. Currently, JSW Infra was quoting 85 per cent higher against its issue price of Rs 119 per share. A combined 12.6 million equity shares had changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 12:03 PM. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.15 per cent at 65,886.
Meanwhile, in the July to September quarter (Q2FY24), JSW Infra’s profit after tax (PAT) jumped 85 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 256 crore on the back of strong operational income. Revenue from operations grew 28 per cent Y-o-Y at Rs 848 crore, primarily driven by an increase in volume offtake. The company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) rose 33 per cent Y-o-Y at Rs 499 corre on the back of increased revenue and cost control. Reported Ebitda margin improved 190 bps to 55.8 per cent from 53.9 per cent in the year ago quarter. Over FY19-23, port traffic at Indian ports increased by 2.8 per cent CAGR. Further, over FY23-28 it is estimated to expand by 3-6 per cent CAGR to 1,730- 1,750 million tonnes. Traffic at major and non-major ports increased by 2.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent CAGR, respectively. Share of major ports in the overall cargo traffic is declining, but with better efficiencies, lower turnaround time and competitive pricing, non-major ports are expanding their share, JSW Infra had said in its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).
JSW Infrastructure Limited is part of the JSW Group. JSW Infrastructure Limited is the second largest commercial port operator in India in terms of cargo handling capacity in fiscal 2023, operating environment-friendly seaports & terminals. It operates nine state port concessions.
