Gujarat Pipavav Port bets big on coal cargos.

India’s leading private sector ports player Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd promoted by global ports and shipping conglomerate, APM Terminals BV is aiming high for the bulk cargo business which company expects to shoot up with increased coal requirement for power capacities in the country.

GPPL, operational under the brand name, APM Terminals Pipavav handles over 3 million tonnes of bulk cargos annually, of which nearly half is coal. In 2009, the GPPL handled coal cargos to the tune 1.52 million tonnes of the total bulk cargo handling of 3.37 million tonnes during the year.

In an interaction with media, Mr Prakash Tulsiani MD of GPPL informed about the robust prospects for the country’s ports sector on the back of increased international trades. He said that “As the country is witnessing newer power generation capacities coming up in near future, which will boost coal imports from outside countries thereby increasing cargo handling at ports too.”

He further informed that being a prominent non major port in Gujarat, the company has huge advantage considering the pace of growth in Gujarat’s industrial sector. He added that “Dry bulk cargo accounted 34% of Gujarat’s total cargo traffic in the year 2008. Further, the State is also expecting substantial investments coming in the power sector by 2012 to add 11,164 MW of power generation capacity. This we believe will boost cargo activity in the ports located in the close proximity.”

Out of the total revenue of INR 219.11 crore recorded during fiscal 2009 (The company follows financial year from January to December), the company registered INR 102.4 crore coming from container cargo, while the share of dry bulk cargo stood at Rs.98.7 crore for the period, the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) of the company stated. Further, the company has a LPG berthing facility as well, however the volumes generated is very meager as it is still at the beginning stage. Presently, Aegis (Gas) LPG Pvt Ltd is the sole customer for the LPG cargo service, said Tulsiani ruling out any possibility of creating additional capacity for oil cargo berthing. GPPL is proposing a public offer via equity offer to the public and institutional investors.

The company, jointly promoted by APM Terminals Mauritius Holding Ltd and APM Terminals Mauritius Ltd, along with APM Terminals BV will hit the capital markets on August 23rd 2010 with an initial public offering of equity shares of INR 10 each for cash at a price band fixed from INR 42 to INR 48 per share to raise around INR 500 crore, besides an offer for sale of up to 11.7 million equity shares by the private equity investors. The issue is managed by Kotak Mahindra Capital, IDFC Capital and IDBI Capital, will close on August 26. APM Terminals BV is the port operating arm of Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A P Moller-Maersk.

Source : steelguru.com