Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Infrastructure has set out an ambitious target to expand port capacity by 2.4 times to reach 400 million tonnes by 2030, pitting it directly in competition with Adani Ports & SEZ, the undisputed private sector leader in the Indian port sector.

JSW Infra said it would look at acquisitions in the port sector, apart from organic growth, to achieve its target by the end of the decade or before, following a similar strategy undertaken by APSEZ to rapidly scale up presence on either coasts of India.

In the first year of operations as a listed entity, JSW Infra achieved a 15 per cent growth in FY24, handling 106 million tonnes of cargo. The company’s operational capacity stood at 170 mt.

The company has identified three levers to accelerate growth to reach its stated target. Privatisation and opportunity to undertake public-private partnership projects thrown up by government- owned major ports will be one of the drivers, apart from acquisitions in port-related logistics and infrastructure. The company will also look at leveraging the balance sheet for other inorganic opportunities.

JSW Infra has cash and bank balance of ₹4,316 crore and a gross debt of ₹4,381 crore. The market capitalisation of the company, which went public on October 23, is about $6.1 billion.

The support of JSW Steel, the flagship company of the $23 billion JSW group, will be a key for the scale up projected for the infra vertical. Largely led by the steel business, JSW Group contributed 60 per cent of the cargo volume handled by JSW Infra in FY24, even as the share of the related parties are coming down.

In FY23, the share of JSW Group in cargo handled was 67 per cent but in Q4FY24, the share came down to 54 per cent as JSW Infra looked to broaden the user base. Given that JSW Steel has an ambitious target to reach 50 mt steel making capacity in India by 2030, expanding close to 50 per cent from the present, JSW Infra will have a home advantage.

JSW Infra recorded ₹4,032 crore revenue and ₹1,161 crore profit in FY24 and ₹1,200 crore revenue and ₹329 crore profit in Q4FY24.

Adani headstart

While JSW Infra hopes to reach a capacity of 400 mt by decade’s end, APSEZ is already sitting with 627 mt capacity in India alone. The Adani entity handled 408 mt cargo in FY24 and it is aiming to handle about 480 mt cargo in FY25.

The company did not share any decade end roadmap on Thursday but it is expanding capacity in India and abroad at a rapid clip.

In FY24, APSEZ acquired two ports, Gopalpur and Karaikal, apart from expanding capacities in the existing and upcoming ventures (Sri Lanka container terminal, Kerala’s Vizhinjam Port).

Moreover, it has also ventured into a number of port related services — warehousing, trucking, rail network, grain silos — to assure cargo volume.