LONDON: Private sector port operator Essar Ports today reported a 9 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 104.5 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 helped by growth volumes and cost optimisation measures. The company had clocked a net profit of Rs 96.1 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing. Its total consolidated income rose by 6 percent to Rs 421.86 crore in the July-September quarter this fiscal from Rs 398.78 crore during the same quarter of 2014-15. The company attributed the growth in profits to increase in tonnage helped by volumes added from the Vishakhapatnam iron ore outer harbour terminal as well as efforts in managing expenses in port operations. This was the first full quarter of the operations of the Vishakhapatnam iron ore outer harbour terminal, which was taken over by the firm in the April-March quarter this fiscal. Essar Ports billed traffic volume rose by 17 percent to 20.64 million tonnes (MT) in the September quarter against 17.70 MT in the same quarter last fiscal.
Its total expenses rose marginally by 2 percent to Rs 152.39 crore from Rs 149.50 crore during the reported quarter. Commenting on the performance, Essar Ports Managing Director Rajiv Agarwal said: “We are on track for completing our capacity addition projects over the next few years. The emphasis continues to be on development of world class facilities and to complete the projects in hand in time.” Shares of Essar Ports today fell by 0.33 per cent to settle at Rs 119.90 apiece at the BSE.
