APM Terminals Pipavav on Thursday reported a 38 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 65.4 crore in the three months ended March.
In a release, the company, also known as Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd, said operations at the port, which were halted in the wake of the cyclone Tauktae, are expected to resume from May 31.
APM Terminals Pipavav had posted a net profit of Rs 47.2 crore in the fourth quarter of the fiscal ended March 31, 2020.
Revenue from operations rose nearly 20 per cent to Rs 193.40 crore in the latest March quarter. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 161.90 crore.
The container cargo business for the quarter stood at 195,236 TEUs while the bulk business was at 1,028,977 MT.
During the fourth quarter, the port's liquid business was 161,719 MT and as many as 4,858 cars were handled under RoRo (Roll on Roll off) category.
For the financial year ended March 31, 2021, net profit stood at Rs 218.10 crore while total income from operations was at Rs 733.50 crore during the same period.
Jakob Friis Sorenson, Managing Director of the company, said that despite a challenging year of pandemic, "we managed to keep our revenue flat on yearly performance. On the quarterly performance, our numbers are up primarily driven by dry bulk".
He also said that container numbers were lower, mainly due to the congestion at the Far-East port which led to the lowering of EXIM container numbers.
"Cyclone 'Tauktae' was a major challenge for the port sector in Gujarat. APM Terminals Pipavav experienced an unprecedented crisis when the cyclone hit the Gujarat coast. It has impacted the port adversely and has halted our operations temporarily," Sorenson said.
According to him, all the company's employees are safe at the port and they worked proactively and tirelessly to ensure minimum impact.
"All our efforts are directed to initiate the port operations as soon as possible and we expect to be operating container vessels on May 31," he said.
