Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone reported a 74 percent jump in the March quarter net profit as revenue rose on higher cargo and container volumes, and also forecast a five-fold growth in its port handling capacity by 2013.

India's largest private port operator, headed by billionaire chairman Gautam Adani, reported a quarterly net profit of 3.35 billion rupees from 1.92 billion rupees. Revenue rose to 6.44 billion rupees from 4.28 billion rupees.

The firm handled 14.26 MMT (million metric tonne) consolidated cargo this quarter, from 10.46 MMT a year ago.

Its container volumes increased to 311,630 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units) from 254,420 TEUs a year ago.

The firm's standalone FY11 net profit rise 41 percent to 9.86 billion rupees.

Mundra Port, a unit of Adani Enterprises , had earlier this month agreed to buy Abbot Point Coal Terminal in Australia for $2 billion in an all-cash deal to tap into growing coal traffic in the overseas markets.

The Abbot Point Coal deal is one of the largest acquisitions of an Australian asset by an Indian company since Adani acquired Linc Energy's Galilee coal project for $2.7 billion last August.

This terminal has capacity of handling 50 MMTPA and scope of addition up to 80 MMTPA, Mundra Port said.

The company said its total capacity would be around 265 MMTPA by 2012/13, due in part to the Abbot acquisition. It handled 52.26 MMT of cargo in FY11.

While all the major ports grew 2 percent in 2010/11, Mundra Port registered a 30 percent jump in cargo, boosted by higher bulk and container business, the company said.

The Adani group is currently engaged in developing ports and terminals at Dahej, Hazira, Mormugao and Visakhapatnam in India as well as Abbot Point in Australia, it said in a statement.

"The addition of the capacities at Mundra port as well as all other ports like Goa, Hazira, and now Vizag apart from the operating port at Dahej is well on track."

"This would take the port handling capacities to 215 MMTPA by 2013, apart from the International Port Abbot Point capacity of 50 MMTPA," the statement added.

Mundra Port shares ended down 1.06 percent at 130.50 rupees in a Mumbai market that ended flat. (Reuters)