Adani Ports shares rise after acquisition of 95% stake in Gopalpur Ports for ₹1,349 crore

This transaction is subject to approval from the Commerce and Transport Department of the Government of Odisha and is likely to be completed by the first quarter of the financial year 2025.

The acquisition of Gopalpur Ports makes it the 14th port under the Adani Group's control in India. It also operates the Haifa Port in Israel. The company currently has a presence in seven maritime states including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala.

The company's cargo handling is expected to rise 5% in FY23, thanks to the new acquisition. The revenue of Adani Ports is also likely to move closer to ₹20,000 crore. With this, the Adanis now control 24% of port capacity in India.

Gopalpur Ports Ltd is engaged in the business of handling various types of dry bulk and break bulk cargo and is a deep draft, multi-cargo port. It handles a diverse mix of dry bulk cargo, including iron ore, coal, limestone, ilmenite sand and alumina.

In the financial year 2023, it handled 7.4 million metric tonne (MMT) of cargo and has a capacity of 20 MMT. It is estimated to handle 11.3 MMT of cargo in the current financial year and is expected to earn operational revenue of ₹520 crore, Adani Ports said.

Adani Ports further highlighted that the investment is in line with their strategy of East Coast to West Coast parity and Gopalpur Port's location will allow it unprecedented access to the mining hubs of Odisha and neighbouring states.

"GPL will add to the Adani Group’s pan-India port network, east coast vs west coast cargo volume parity and strengthen APSEZ’s integrated logistics approach,” Adani Ports Managing Director Karan Adani said.

"In our view, the Gopalpur Port is all set for strong growth and margin expansion in the financial year 2025 with opportunities already identified for achieving higher operational efficiencies and infra debottlenecking, implying further value accretion for APSEZ shareholders," he added.

Adani Ports reported a cargo volume growth of 33% in February and mentioned that it is on track to surpass its volume guidance for the financial year 2024.

For the first 11 months of financial year 2024, the company has handled 382 MMT of cargo after February's data. It crossed the 350 MMT cargo volume mark at its domestic ports in 318 days of the financial year.

Shares of Adani Ports ended 1.1% higher at ₹1,276 last Friday. The stock has gained 103% over the last 12 months.