Good growth expected in domestic operations, but need to watch out for Export-Import: CMD - CONCOR

NEW DELHI: “As of now we started our year with a target of 10% growth, but we have to wait and see how the things will pan out in the Export-Import sector. Domestic, we are getting good demand and we are hopeful that in domestic we will be able to grow. But Export-Import, we are waiting for the export-import scenario to get clear,”says VKalyanaRama,Chairman&MD,Concor.

Currently, exports are not very encouraging but I cannot predict it for the whole year because people are expecting the things to improve. But as we see the headwinds in the Western markets are not very good. We are facing headwinds for the exports going from India,exceptfortheprimaryagroproducts.

Valueaddedservices

Domestic is not having as good margins as ExportImport. But in the revenue, if we see our domestic revenuepercentageitisincreasingyearonyear.Sotoget more margins, we are trying to add a lot of value-added servicesintothedomestic.

We started first mail, last mail logistics. We started business support solutions. Now we started new products. So we call it material handling methodologies. Bulkcementwearehandlinginnormalcontainersthatis a very new product and it is picking up. So with these value-added services, we are trying to improve upon our marginsindomesticandalsowearetryingtogetintothe distributionlogisticsverysoon.

So, going forward, there may be a little strain on the marginsbutoverallIexpectthemarginsinthisyeartobe maintained. We are working towards that because in Export-Import,westarteddoingdoublestackdirectfrom our depot. We got a depot called Dadri in Delhi, NCR region that is now connected directly to DFC (Dedicated Freight Corridor). And now we are not going through hub. Earlier we used to go through the hub of Kathuwas. Because of this, there is a lot of interest generated. The transittimeshavecomedown.

So, there is a very good interest developed among the customers because it is better than road movement now, even for light community cargos, time-sensitive cargos everythingwillcomeontoDadri.

Even we started doing reefer double stack also. So, a lot of new products we are introducing into the ExportImportsector.

With all that, we will be able to maintain our volumes inExport-Importthatwillmaintainourmargins.Sotogo with at the beginning of this financial year, the guidance will be that we will try to maintain our margins. There may be a little pressures on margins, but our aim is to maintainthemargins.

Containerisation

In domestic, we are seeing good growth that is where the containerization will come in. Exports, whatever exports earlier going on, they are going on in containers only because the western countries, they accept goods moreincontainersratherthaninthebreakbulkandbulk mode.

So there the growth will come with the export-import scenario.Howweareabletodowellinourexportsorhow much we are importing, that decides the volumes whereas in domestic, the more and more goods can be containerized.

In the domestic side, there is a very good growth potential. With the new methods and the new products we are bringing into containers, there is a huge scope, like the bulk cement – handling of bulk commodities in normal containers. The size of this market is 400 million tonsandwehavetappednoteven10%.

Sothereisahugemarkettheretoexplore,tocapture. It is a virgin market. There are certain headwinds for this, the container availability, because now we are encouraging Atmanirbhar Bharat in India and we are importingcontainers.Thecontainershortageistherefor domestic movement for us as of now. We are working along with railways and various other industrial units to overcometheshortage.

Gatishakti

WewillbeworkingwithGatiShaktischeme,wherever the new terminals are coming up, where we have to use the Gati Shakti, we are definitely using it and at the existing terminals, there is an established business practice. We have taken up a new terminal at a place called Mandalgarh near Kota under Gati Shakti so that wearedevelopingunderGatiShakti.

And even terminals which are not on railway land parcels where we are directly purchasing land parcels and developing, there also we will take the advantage of Gati Shakti in developing all the support services. So there is no time frame for implementing Gati Shakti for all the terminals. Gati Shakti is a continuous process and the main idea of PM Gati Shakti program is to help logistics improvements and to reduce logistics cost in India.

HMM enters acquisition race for Hyundai LNG Shipping

SEOUL: HMM, a South Korean shipping giant, has joined the race to acquire Hyundai LNG Shipping, the country’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG)transporter.

According to industry insiders on May 18, HMM has expressed its intention to IMM Private Equity to carry out due diligence and participate in the main bidding for Hyundai LNG Shipping. IMM Private Equity is a private investment fund manager holding a 100% stake in HyundaiLNGShipping.

At present, Hyundai LNG Shipping owns a fleet of 23 vessels, including 16 LNG carriers, six liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers, and one LNG bunkering vessel. The company boasts a stable income stream, derived from long-term contracts with Korea Gas Corporationandinternationalclients.

Last year, HMM unveiled a medium-to-long-term strategy aimed at portfolio diversification. The company’s revenue structure is heavily dependent on the container sector, directly linked to global economic trends. As part of its strategy, HMM plans to expand its fleet of bulk carriers, known for their stable profitability. Notably, the LNG shipping market is projected to see a significant uptick due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraineconflict.

Hyundai LNG Shipping was initially part of HMM’s LNG transportation division. In 2014, HMM sold this division for KRW 500 billion to improve its liquidity position.