Amid slowdown, Essar Ports registers robust growth

Mumbai, Aug 21 (IANS) Essar Ports on Wednesday said higher capacity utilisation at its recently commissioned terminals at Salaya and Vizag and an increase in third-party cargo volume are crucial factors to help the company achieve its target of handling 60 million tonnes of cargo by March 31, 2020.

The company's first quarter cargo handling performance has been very strong and brought it closer to achieving its target throughput by the end of the current financial year.

For the quarter ended June 30, 2019, Essar Ports reported an impressive 17.4 per cent growth in cargo volumes across its four terminals. The combined throughput stood at 13.5 million tonnes, up from 11.5 million tonnes in the same period last year, it said in a statement.

The company expects to meet 60 MT target for FY20. With throughput being 47 MT in FY19, this would translate into a growth of 27 per cent.

All Essar terminals are focused on bulk and dry bulk cargoes that are primarily used as raw material in core sector industries, like Steel and Power. Higher capacity utilisation in recently commissioned terminals and rise in third-party cargo are contributing to the rise in throughput.

"Our business is on a record growth trajectory with all terminals operating in full swing. Significant boost in third-party business and enhanced capacity utilisation of our anchor customers has been the key driver for the growth in volumes. We have consistently surpassed the average sectorial growth rate and are confident of achieving our target by March 2020," said Rajiv Agarwal, MD & CEO, Essar Ports Ltd.

Essar Ports is one of India's largest private sector ports and terminal developers and operators. It has invested Rs 11,000 crore in developing world-class terminals in three Indian states. The company is a leader in the non-containerized bulk cargo space.

All Essar Ports terminals use advanced cargo handling infrastructure and are equipped to double capacity in the near to medium term. The company is focused on not only enhancing cargo throughput, but also on ramping up capacity and contributing meaningfully to the government's ambitious target of developing 3,130 MT of port capacity in the country by 2020.

Outside India, Essar's port assets include a liquid terminal in the UK and a coal terminal which is in the development stage at Mozambique's Beira port.