Adani Ports fourth-quarter profit takes hit from Myanmar port sale

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, a subsidiary of the Adani Group, said on Tuesday that losses from the sale of the Myanmar port project affected its fourth-quarter earnings.

India’s largest private port operator reported a 5.1% increase in net profit at Rs 11.59 billion over last year, while its revenue from operations jumped by nearly 40%.

Adani Ports said earlier this month that it had sold the sanctioned Myanmar port for $30 million, far less than it invested in the project.

The company said the sale amount was adjusted from $260 million, resulting in an impairment loss of Rs 12.73 billion.

Despite this, it has maintained its capital expenditure guidance at 40-45 billion rupees for the fiscal year ending March 30.

The company said it expects freight volumes of between 370 and 390 million metric tons, resulting in revenue of 240 to 250 billion rupees and underlying profit of 145 to 150 billion rupees in 2023-24.

Adani Ports has been one of several Adani Group companies caught in the eye of a storm since Jan. 24 when US-based short seller Hindenburg Research raised concerns about the conglomerate’s debt levels and use of tax havens.

However, India’s markets watchdog has “put a void” in its investigation of suspected abuses in overseas investments and its continued pursuit of the case could be a “journey with no destination,” a court-appointed panel said.

Meanwhile, the company said its promoters took prepaid loans obtained through the company’s pledged shares, reducing its pledged shares to 4.66% on March 31, compared to 17.31% on December 31.

(Reporting by Sethuraman NR in Mumbai)