JSW Infra among gainers

JSW Infrastructure is among the top gainers on the BSE, rising 6.28% to Rs. 371.60. The stock opened at Rs. 350.25 against the previous close of Rs. 349.65 and touched a fresh 52-week high of Rs. 375.25. Trading activity was strong, with 8.66 lakh shares changing hands and turnover at Rs. 31.80 crore. The company’s market cap stood at Rs. 86,582.86 crore.

Trigger

• Subsidiary JSW Port Logistics has received an LOI to set up an Inland Container Depot at Kudathini, Ballari, Karnataka.
• This will be the first ICD in the Ballari region for handling import/export cargo.
• The ICD follows the earlier acquisition of a brownfield rail siding at Kudathini, which is being developed as a multi-modal logistics park.
• JSW Infrastructure has also completed acquisition of NCR Rail Infrastructure for Rs. 467.47 crore.
• NCR Rail owns a six-line private freight terminal at Khurja, Uttar Pradesh, with warehouses and a 130-acre land bank.

The bigger story is JSW Infra’s shift from being seen only as a ports company to becoming an integrated logistics platform. Ports, rail sidings, freight terminals, ICDs and warehouses together improve cargo stickiness and allow the company to capture a larger part of the logistics value chain.

The stock trades at a rich consolidated PE of around 57x, while the standalone PE is over 500x. So while the growth direction is positive, the market will now watch execution at Ballari, integration of NCR Rail, cargo ramp-up and whether these assets can deliver returns strong enough to justify the premium valuation.