Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone reported a more-than-21 percent rise in July-Sept net profit as its cargo and container businesses grew, but shares fell as the firm handled lower-than-expected cargo volumes in the quarter.

The firm headed by billionaire chairman Gautam Adani on Monday reported a quarterly net profit of 2.11 billion rupees compared with 1.74 billion rupees a year ago.

Total income rose to 4.2 billion rupees from 3.4 billion rupees, it said Mundra handled 12.58 MMT (million metric tonne) cargo this quarter compared with 10.11 MMT a year ago, a growth of 24 percent, outperforming the sector which grew at just 1 percent, it said in a statement.

The cargo volumes were, however, lower than what analysts expected.

"Volumes were lower than expected and they dipped marginally on a quarter-on-quarter basis," said Kejal Mehta, an analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.

The firm had handled 12.62 MMT of cargo in April-June. Its net profit also remained flat compared with the first quarter at 2.11 billion rupees.

Kapil Yadav, an analyst at Dolat Capital, said he expects the firm to handle around 50 million tonnes of cargo for the full year.

"The cargo composition has also been steady with coal, crude and containers taking the top spot. The major growth drivers have been bulk cargo (including coal, minerals, fertilisers) and containers," Mundra Port said in the statement.

Its container business increased to 313,645 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) from 226,610 TEUs last year. (Reuters)