New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS): Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), the largest transport utility in India and a part of the diversified Adani Group, on Wednesday announced its results for the second quarter and half year ended September 30, 2021.

Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer and Whole Time Director of APSEZ said: "APSEZ has delivered a strong first half, which is a testimony to our growth story. Our strategy of geographic expansion with a focus on higher-growth regions, balancing cargo mix, expansion in the logistics business, particularly rail transportation, and foray into Grade-A warehousing segment reflects our move towards a 'Transport Utility' business model and is resulting in a continuous increase in our market share.

"Our acquisitions of Sarguja rail, Dighi port, and Gangavaram port, alongside the foray into Sri Lanka with a greenfield port in Colombo, all during H1 / 2021, are steps in that direction. We are on track to achieve our volume target for FY 21-22 which will be a milestone year for APSEZ.

"We are progressing towards our target of carbon-neutrality by 2025, with a focus on the use of renewable energy, and carbon offsetting through mangrove afforestation and terrestrial plantation. As we work on a strategy for the pathway to net-zero, we continue to invest in new technologies, and digitisation and automation of our operations and services, with an objective to become the topmost sustainable port company in the world."

Adani Ports handled 144 MMT of cargo in H1/FY22 compared to 98 MMT in H1/FY21, registering a growth of 47 per cent compared to 16 per cent growth registered at all India levels.

The ports' portfolio, excluding Mundra, grew by 91 per cent. Whilst Mundra continues to grow (registered a double-digit growth), other ports in the portfolio (especially on the east coast) are growing faster, thereby moving towards a balanced portfolio.

Ports on the east coast grew by 134 per cent and those on the west coast grew by 26 per cent. Apart from Mundra, Dhamra, Hazira and Dahej ports also registered doubledigit growth.

The growth in cargo volume was led by dry cargo which grew by 59 per cent, container by 42 per cent and liquids (including crude) by 27 per cent.

In the container segment, APSEZ handled 4.11 Mn TEUs out of 9.67 Mn TEUs handled at all India levels. APSEZ registered a y-o-y growth of 42 per cent as against 30 per cent at all India levels, thereby increasing market share to 42.5 per cent (gain of 144 bps).

Mundra continues to be the largest container handling port with 3.2 Mn TEUs.

Adani Logistics, the largest and most diversified private rail operator in India, registered a 23 per cent growth in rail volume to 179,377 TEUs and a 17 per cent growth in terminal volume to 134,136 TEUs.

Adani Logistics has expanded its rolling stock and added 8 new bulk rakes under the GPWIS scheme, taking the total number of rakes to 69.

Consolidated revenue grew by 56 per cent, from Rs 5,195 crore in H1/FY21 to Rs 8,089 crore. Port revenue increased by 46 per cent to Rs 6,347 crore. Revenue from the logistics business stood at Rs 546 crore, a growth of 27 per cent.