Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the JSW Infrastructure Limited Q2 FY 2026 earnings conference call hosted by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during this conference, please signal an operator by pressing star and then zero on your touch-tone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Alok Devra from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, and good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Q2 FY 2026 earnings call of JSW Infrastructure. We have with us today Mr. Rinkesh Roy, Joint Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Lalit Singhvi, Strategic Advisor and Board Member, Mr. Nagarajan Jay, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Vishesh Pachnanda, Head of Investor Relations. I will now hand over the call to the management to provide some opening remarks, and then we can proceed to the Q&A. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you, Alok. Good evening, and thank you all for joining our earnings call for the quarter ended 30th September 2025. The global economy continues to navigate a complex terrain. While trade volumes have remained resilient in the first half of 2025, geopolitical tensions and evolving trade policies, especially from the U.S., have introduced new uncertainties. Amid this turbulent backdrop, India has emerged as a resilient and stable economy, underpinned by a forward-looking policy framework. The country's pro-growth stance remains intact, with the RBI introducing a series of measures aimed at stimulating credit expansion. With inflation under control and fiscal consolidation progressing, the RBI has revisited India's GDP growth forecast upwards from 6.5%- 6.8% for FY 2025-2026, signaling confidence in the country's economic trajectory despite prevailing global headwinds. India's port sector remains central to its trade and infrastructure ambitions.
In FY 2026, the government has ramped up efforts to privatize, modernize, and expand port capacity while enhancing connectivity and digitizing operations. At JSW Infrastructure, we are steadfast in our commitment to expanding our cargo handling capacity from the current 177 million tons per annum to 400 million tons per annum by FY 2030 or earlier. This vision is being actively pursued through a series of strategic investments and development initiatives, particularly in greenfield port projects that are set to redefine India's maritime landscape. One of the key milestones achieved this quarter was at Keni Port in Karnataka, where we successfully concluded the public hearing in August, an important step in the regulatory approval process. Similarly, Murbe Port in Maharashtra has made notable progress with the EIA report submitted in the previous quarter and a successful public hearing held in this month.
These developments mark significant regulatory advancements and pave the way for construction activities to commence in the near future. Together, the progress at Keni and Murbe ports reflects our focused execution and reinforces our commitment to building world-class port infrastructure across strategic coastal regions. Notably, JSW Infrastructure stands out as the only port company in India currently engaged in the simultaneous development of three greenfield ports: Keni and Murbe on the West Coast and Jatadhar in Orissa on the East Coast. These strategically located projects represent a combined capacity of 93 million tons per annum in their initial phase. This exceptional scale of infrastructure development reflects our unwavering commitment to strengthening India's maritime capabilities and meeting the evolving demands of trade and logistics through modern, future-ready port assets. Our 302-Km iron ore slurry pipeline project continues to advance steadily.
As of now, 218 Km of welding and 195 Km of pipeline lowering have been completed. The project remains on track for completion by March 2027, and once operational, it will significantly enhance the efficiency of iron ore transportation. Meanwhile, the construction activities at Jatadhar Port are in full swing, with contractors mobilized at the site and 4.5 million cubic meters of bridging already completed, with the total work completion target of March 2027. At the JNPL liquid terminal, construction is nearing completion, and commercial operations are expected to commence soon. Growth will also be propelled by opportunities in the privatization of terminals at major ports. As part of this strategy, we had earlier announced the receipt of a letter of award from the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port Authority for the redevelopment of berth 8 and mechanization of berth seven and eight at Netaji Subhas Dock in Kolkata.
Building on this milestone, we have now signed a 30-year concession agreement to operate the container terminal, which will have a handling capacity of 6.3 million tons per annum upon completion. This redevelopment is poised to significantly enhance container handling efficiency in the region, strengthening our presence on the East Coast, and contribute meaningfully to India's growing maritime trade. In line with the logistics business expansion plans, which is anchored in our strategy to build a robust pan-India logistics network that supports seamless multimodal connectivity and enhances operational efficiency across key ports and terminals and domestic movement of cargo, we have acquired a brownfield rail siding in Kudathini, Ballari, Karnataka. The site spans over 86 acres, and the facility is being transformed into a state-of-the-art multimodal logistics park, featuring advanced land infrastructure, container handling systems, a rail freight terminal, and a fully equipped inland container depot.
Commercial operations are expected to begin within the next two to three months, with a phased ramp-up. The total capital expenditure for the project is estimated at INR 380 crore, including INR 57 crore for the acquisition. This investment will be deployed over the next few years to fully develop the site into a comprehensive logistics hub. On the operational front, JSW Infrastructure handled 58.2 million tons of cargo during the period April to September 2025, marking a 4% year-on-year growth. This growth was significantly impacted by subdued cargo volumes at the Paradip Iron Ore Terminal, which saw a shortfall of approximately 3.4 million tons due to challenging macroeconomic conditions in the iron ore export market. In the absence of these headwinds, the company's overall growth would have been closer to 10%.
Navkar Corporation, part of our group, delivered a standout performance in H1 FY 2026, marked by a strong recovery in operational volumes and a return to profitability. Our operations and maintenance contracts in the UAE at the ports of Fujairah and Dibba have delivered exceptional operational performance. Notably, the port of Fujairah is on track to exceed its minimum cargo volume commitments, reflecting strong throughput and efficient handling. This outperformance positions us to benefit from a share in the profitability generated from the incremental cargo, further enhancing the commercial value of our engagement at the port. To sum up, most of our domestic and international operations are running efficiently and nearing or exceeding their optimal capacity, with the exception of the Paradip Iron Ore Terminal. Overall, on a consolidated basis, our total revenue was INR 2,686 crore for the first half of FY 2026, representing a 23% year-on-year growth.
EBITDA for the period stood at INR 1,387 crore, marking a 14% increase, while net profit reached INR 758 crore, reflecting a strong growth of 13%. With this, let me hand over to Mr. Nagarajan, our CFO, to take us through the financials and other details.
Thank you, Rinkesh Ji, and good evening, everybody. Let me first talk about our port business. In Q2 FY 2026, the company handled cargo volumes of 28.9 million tons, as compared to 28 million tons in the quarter ended September 2024. The 3% volume increase was primarily driven by strong performance in SWPL, Jaigarh Port, and Dharamtar Port. Additionally, interim operations were started at Tuticorin and JNPT liquid terminal, which contributed positively. Despite the strong contributions from key ports, growth was moderated by a 2.1 million ton shortfall during the quarter at the Paradip Iron Ore Terminal, driven by weak seaboard iron ore export market conditions. Without these headwinds, overall growth would have been closer to 10% on the cargo volumes.
Group cargo increased to 15.7 million tons from 14.8 million tons, a growth by a million ton, representing a 6% growth, and share of group volumes stood at 54% this quarter versus 52% a year ago. The third-party volumes had a marginal decline YoY, mainly attributable to the weak cargo volumes at Paradip Iron Ore Terminal. The growth in cargo volumes and the change in volume mix resulted in YoY increase in operational revenue, which stood at INR 1,100 crores in Q2 FY 2026. Operational EBITDA for the port segment was at INR 585 crores, which was up from INR 421 crores, an increase of 12%. Above that, the margin also improved to 53% from 52% a year ago on the back of strong operational performance at private ports led by Jaigarh, SWPL, and Dharamtar.
Talking about the logistics part, Navkar Corporation delivered strong operational financial results in Q2 FY 2026. Exim cargo volumes reached 79,000 TEUs, representing a YoY growth. Domestic cargo volumes stood at 394,000 metric tons, up 46% compared to the same last year. Last year, the numbers were around 270,000 tons. Revenue from operations for Navkar rose to INR 163 crores, reflecting a YoY. EBITDA climbed to INR 25 crores, showing substantial improvement, while net profit increased to INR 4 crores, a significant turnaround from a loss of INR 2 crores in the previous year. Total consolidation revenue for the company stood at INR 1,372 crores, and total EBITDA inclusive of other income stood at INR 716 crores, YoY growth of 26% and 18% respectively.
The EBITDA growth was largely driven by increased revenue from higher EBITDA-yielding assets, SWPL, Jaigarh, and Dharamtar. Consolidated depreciation was INR 149 crores versus INR 134 crores in the previous year. The increase is mainly on account of consolidation of Navkar Corporation and capitalization of Coal Covered Shed Project at SWPL Goa. Finance cost was INR 99 crore in the current quarter, as compared to INR 75 crore in the quarter ended September 2024. The increase is attributable to higher net debt. During the quarter ended September 2025, we recognized the unrealized FX loss of INR 5 crore, primarily driven by fluctuation in the dollar-rupee rate and also changes in the yield curve. This is primarily a non-cash accounting adjustment in accordance with IND AS 109. In contrast, the same quarter last year, we recorded an unrealized gain of INR 155 crore.
As a result, PBT for Q2 FY 2026 stood at INR 463 crore compared to INR 554 crore in Q2 FY 2025. However, excluding the impact of these non-cash adjustments in both periods, the underlying PBT would have reflected a YoY growth of 17%. The ETR for the quarter stood at 20%, significantly lower than 33% in the same period last year. This reduction is primarily attributable to recognition of tax credit related to ESOPs and also adoption of tonnage tax for our four MVCs at Jaigarh Port. The tonnage tax concept came in this year, so it will start from FY 2026. PAT for the current year declined to INR 369 crore as compared to INR 374 crore in the same period last year.
I'm also pleased to share that our company has achieved a significant financial milestone as we have been assigned an investment grade rating of BBB- from BBB+, with a stable outlook by both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. This recognition reflects the strength of our financial fundamentals, discipline, capital management, and resilience of our business models. Coming to the CapEx part now, the aggregate financial commitments across all growth projects encompassing the awarded work orders and procurement of materials stood at INR 3,300 crore. That means almost INR 3,300 crore of capital commitments we have done, and the spend in the first half of this financial year stands at INR 902 crore for CapEx. Coming to the ratios now, as of September 2025, we have a net debt of INR 1,810 crore with a net debt to operating EBITDA on a trailing 12-month basis of 0.75.
With one of the strong balance sheets in the sector, this, coupled with steadily increasing annual cash flows from the current asset base, we are well positioned to pursue a growth plan to enhance our present cargo handling capacity to 400 million tons per annum and parallelly grow our logistics business with a top line of INR 8,000 crores by 2030. With this, I request the operator to open the line for Q&A.
Thank you very much. We will now begin the question -and -answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to please use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. Our first question comes from the line of Sumit Kishore from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. My first question is in relation to your port business volumes, which have been up about 4% in the first half. Would you like to revisit your guidance for the full fiscal in terms of growth? Also, if you could comment on the port realization per ton, which seems to have gone up almost 7% year-on-year during this quarter, is it because of the mix of JSW group being higher? That's my first question.
As you were hearing, the main losses we suffered were on account of Paradip Iron Ore Terminal. What we are observing is that generally, as a rule, we do far better in H2 than in H1. That will be a good driver for growth. The second part would be that iron ore prices are now roughly firming up in the market, and the trends that we are observing in October are far better than what we saw in September. At the same time, we are seeing a robust growth at the group level. These three factors, what we are seeing, should help us to have a far better growth than what we saw in H1. However, the exact numbers we are looking at, keeping these factors in mind, we're looking at something between 8%- 10%.
Again, a lot of it depends on how the iron ore market will pan out in the coming days. On the realization part, as we had explained, these are coming at our three major private terminals, especially at Jayagadh and Dharamtar, and also at Goa, where we are giving more additional cargo-related services. If we have been with the same volumes, we are getting a better margin on giving additional cargo-related services.
Just to add to Rinkesh Ji's point on the second question, we can say INR 265 crore uptake is there in the revenue from operation on a YoY basis. If you look at it, of which INR 162 crore is Navkar, so we take that out, leftover is around INR 100 crore. Out of this INR 100 crore, INR 27 crore was primarily on account of a rate increase we have taken in SWPL as well as in Ennore Coal Terminal. This is a permanent rate increase, which will continue for the forthcoming quarters.
On account of rate increase, primarily in coal as well as on some rail kind of assets, we have taken this rate increase, which is at INR 27 crore. The balance INR 68 crore is coming primarily because of the volume increase, which has happened in SWPL, Jaigarh, and Dharamtar Port, if you look at it on a YoY basis. These three port assets, on a per-ton basis, the revenue is higher, as well as the EBITDA is also higher. That's where we see that the revenue has gone up on account of these three ports giving higher volumes. Also, corresponding impact has also been there on the EBITDA.
Sure. This is very clear. My second question is in relation to CapEx. You mentioned that first half CapEx has been about INR 9.02 billion. What is the CapEx target for FY 2026? If you could split it across the port and logistics business separately.
Yeah, we have given a guidance of INR 4,000 crore spent in the port business and INR 1,500 crore spent in the logistics business. We continue with that guidance.
Okay, so there's going to be a pickup second half?
Yeah, if you look at our capital commitments, it's around INR 3,300 crore.
Already in the first?
Yes. Payouts can be a bit, a few quarters here and there, but commitments have already been there. Obviously, this is a group CPC cell which negotiates the credit terms, so it's always a bit stringent.
Sure. I'd just like to squeeze in one quick clarification. You had mentioned on the previous call that your logistics revenue target for the fiscal is INR 7 billion-INR 8 billion and an EBITDA target of INR 1 billion. What did you call this guidance after 1H? Thank you.
Yeah, we continue with that guidance. Also, from a logistics CapEx spend perspective, it is always a mix of acquisition or organic as well as inorganic growth. From an inorganic side, we have already announced acquisition of Kudathini multimodal, the Kudathini railway siding, and there are more acquisitions coming on the annual.
Thank you.
Coming to Navkar EBITDA, we are at INR 45 crore in H1, and we continue with our guidance of INR 100 crore for FY 2026.
Thank you. That's all from my side.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Bharanidhar from Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.
Good evening, gentlemen. Am I audible?
Yeah, yeah.
Yes. My first question is on our upcoming asset addition in the next two years, like Jatadhar Port or the slurry pipeline, etc. What is the status of these projects in terms of, say, approvals or income clearance or land acquisition or giving contract to the EPC contractor, etc.? If you can update on the status of these projects. Thank you.
Okay. I'll be limiting myself to two specific projects that you asked about. One is Jatadhar Port and one is the slurry pipeline. These are all ongoing projects. There are now no regulatory approvals that have to be taken. All the regulatory approvals are in place. In Jatadhar, work has started. Dredging works have been completed to the tune of 4.5 million cubic meters, and work on the berths and other conveyors and all these have also started. We are on course to completion of this project by March 2027. Parallelly, the slurry pipeline is a 303-Km project, out of which 218.3 Km of welding of pipes has been done. Out of that 218.3 Km, 194.4 Km have been lowered into the ground. Broadly, you can say 60% -70% of work on this project has already been completed. We expect its completion also on schedule by March 2027.
Okay, that is very helpful. Can you throw some light on the nature of the disruption in the iron ore market, which impacted Paradip's volumes? What could reverse or change in the coming quarters which can result in the volumes growing there? Thank you.
If you look at the statistics across all the four iron ore terminals at Dhamra, Paradip Iron Ore, Paradip Port Terminal, as well as Gopal Port, last year, H1, there were around 16 million tons of iron ore dispatched from these four terminals. This year, it has dropped down to around nine. There has been a loss of 7 million tons of iron ore movement across these four port terminals because the iron ore prices had come down below a normal economic level for movement. These prices have gone up in the last month. We are now seeing a firming up of these prices in the international market. A lot of players have started movement, especially some of the large miners operating in that area. They have started their movements. We are foreseeing a better performance from October onwards.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Mohit Kumar from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir, and thanks for the opportunity. Sir, I have two questions. First is on the Kolkata container terminal, which you won in this in the Q2. If I look at the volumes for the Kolkata for a very long period of six to eight years, the container volume hasn't grown, right? I'm trying to understand the strategy. How do you see the cargo volumes here and the capacity to ramp up as you commission this particular asset?
You're right. There's been a static movement at Kolkata. One thing you'll appreciate is that Kolkata is one of those few terminals which serve a very captive market. The market they had missed out on in the last few years was the Nepal traffic, which had shifted to Vishakhapatnam. There is a trend now that with better efficiencies that we will get in, along with the port taking the right measures to improve efficiencies in and around the port logistics, we are expecting this traffic to also come back into Kolkata. That will drive the growth further. Hello.
Sir, do we have some kind of estimate for the Nepal traffic?
The Nepal traffic, the current estimations are that we will be getting around 30%- 40% the moment we set up the right infrastructure, because these are currently without topside equipment. Within 18 months or so, we expect a gradual shift back into Kolkata. This terminal, we are expecting a full occupancy, at least 90% occupancy at these two berths that we are taking.
Understood, sir. My second question on the BIT pipeline for prioritization. If I look at the government initial announcement, FY 2026 was looking to be very strong. I think we had around four to five terminals which were supposed to be out in Paradip. Can you please help us with the update on those, on the BIT pipeline? How are you looking for H2? Do you think?
Currently, the one RSQ that's in the market is the Paradip South Sea Terminal. Subsequently, many other terminals in Paradip will be coming up for mechanization bids, including CQ1, CQ2, and IOHP. These all will be coming up, and we will be evaluating, proceeding, and participating there.
Are there any container terminal bids which are in the market as of now? There was just a question.
As of now, the Kolkata balance of NSB will be coming up, for which the RFQ has already come up. That is for the balance part of the Netaji Subhas Dock. The outer harbor in Tuticorin, that is going, that's a mega project, but that will be also coming up soon where they'll be tweaking with the terms of the concession. These two things will be coming up very shortly. That's our expectation.
Understood, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir, and all the best. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Vinit from Invest ec. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening, sir. Thank you for taking my questions. A couple of questions. One is what we understand is JSW Steel at Vijayanagar is taking some minor shutdowns, maintenance shutdowns for part of the capacity. Does that impact our volume, let's say, at Southwest or other terminals in any manner? How much could be the impact of it?
We don't expect any impact on our volumes at either SWPL or any other location.
Okay. Okay. If you look at Kolkata, do you expect interim operations to commence there, or volumes will only come in post 18 months once the complete mechanization is done?
We will get interim operations in, and that also will be doing it soon. As quickly as the conditions precedent are met, we'll be starting interim operations soon.
Should we expect that in the next few months, two, three months or so?
Yes, we're keeping our fingers crossed. We're trying for this next quarter, but hopefully, by the end of this financial year, we should be starting our interim operations.
Understood. Sir, one bookkeeping question. We've seen a sharp increase in the other income this quarter again, despite cash balance or liquid investments coming off, given our investments in the newer ports, and we had acquired also slurry pipeline end of last year. What is driving such increase in other income, and how should we think it going forward as well?
This is a one-off thing. There were some insurance claims which we have received on account of some claims done in Jaigarh Port in Q1. We received a claim to the tune of INR 18 crore in Q2. That is what we have recognized in our books. Also, there was an arbitration which was going in SWPL, and that arbitration concluded in our favor. We had taken a provision of INR 16 crore. The liability came to INR 6 crore, so there is a reversal of INR 10 crore provision.
Understood. Anything other than that to be aware about, or other than that, it's all more regular?
More regular stuff. These are like one-off items, two major one-off items.
Understood. Understood. Okay. Thank you so much, sir. Thank you.
Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Mr. Achal from Nuvama Institutional Equities. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good evening. Thank you for the opportunity. Just two questions, sir. First, with respect to the tariff regime given for our major port terminals, is there a case for the revision in tariff, or any timeline you could talk about by when you can expect market pricing?
I couldn't get exactly what it is that.
Achal, would you mind repeating your question, or is the tariff increase related to terminals?
Our major port terminals, for example, or Goa terminals, these are at major ports, which are under different tariff regimes. If you look at the new regulations, the government allows free market pricing for the major port terminals as well. I wanted to check if our terminals have also moved to free market pricing. If not, is there any expectation? Yes.
Achal, this new policy is still in a draft phase. It is not yet finalized. Once it is finalized, they will all get benefits. Right now, it is at the same tariff level.
Understood. The second, if you could give some more understanding on the INR 8,000 crore logistics revenue, what you mentioned by FY 2030, what kind of mix are you expecting from Exim/domestic or road versus rail? If you could give some color in terms of organic as well as inorganic, if possible.
Just a minute. Broadly, what we are looking at is, you know, we are looking at going to a level of around 284 rigs by 2030-2031. In that, it would be close to 107 rigs of specialized rigs and 170 some of container rigs. Plus, we are looking at setting up around 24 rail terminals as well as five port terminals, broadly around in the range of 30 terminals by 2030, and purchase of containers along with the container train. These would be the three main areas apart from the expenditure on terminals. Here we are looking at, from the domestic, you know, kind of CTO business. Broad numbers would come to, by five years down the line, it would be around rigs, containers, and terminals put together. It would be around 25% margin that we are looking at out of that top line.
You're saying that we essentially, out of INR 8,000 crore, INR 2,000 crore from domestic business. Have I understood right, sir, FY 2030-2031?
No. The mix in domestic will be slightly higher than what you're looking at in Exim. The breakup would be broadly, that is, it would be somewhere around 60% would be domestic and around 40% will be Exim.
How much of the total INR 8,000 crore revenue would be from group cargo, group customers?
Group customers, we are expecting somewhere in the range of 35% -40%. That would be the range.
Understood. The investment is around INR 5,000 crore, if I remember the number right. If you could elaborate a little bit on that, how much will be the capital investment?
Total CapEx will be INR 9,000 million. The top line would be INR 8,000 million. EBITDA would be around 25%.
the INR 9,000 crore, already INR 1,000 crore spend has happened on acquiring Navkar Corporation. Also, we have acquired the Kudathini multimodal logistics park, of which we are expecting a spend of around INR 350 crore. These two spends have been locked in now.
Got it. That's all from my end, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Madhur Rathi from CCIPL. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I wanted to understand regarding current capacity utilization at Navkar Corporation. With the 100 acres of land that we have, sir, how much can our capacity be increased over the next three, four years in our FY 2030 outlook that we have?
Broadly, I would put it as surplus land at Navkar would be to the tune of 100 acres split equally between Panvel and Morbi. It's broadly 59- 60 acres in Panvel and around 40 acres in Morbi. In the 60 acres that we looked at Panvel, we are looking at utilizing around 10 -12 acres of that. Fifty acres will still be going surplus in the Panvel area, which we will be monetizing or putting to use at a later date, seeing the opportunities of growth there. At Morbi, we are looking at more of a long-term partnership with different customers. We have already approached some players there. As and when these fructify, that will be offered on long-term lease.
What is our current capacity at both these locations?
The current capacity utilization at, let us say, the Mumbai sector would be around 60%- 65%. In Morbi, it would be in the range of 55%- 60%.
Got it. Also, just a final question from my end, sir. If I consider Morbi as a ceramic hub of India, sir, how much of these logistics requirements there would be either catered by us or our private container terminal? Sir, how big does this opportunity become over the next three to five years?
We have already started a service. To answer your question, we have already started a service transporting tiles from Morbi to Kolkata. On the return leg, we are picking up a lot of other cargo back into the Mumbai region and then onwards into Morbi. We have been able to do three services of this Morbi-Kolkata last month, and this will be gradually increasing. The potential for different sectors is being reviewed, and we are putting up strategies in place for that.
Got it. Sir, thank you so much and all the best.
Thank you. We have our next question from the line of Ankita Shah from Elara Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi. I just had one question. What is happening in the Fujairah terminal? There has been a continuous gradual decline in the volumes there. I just wanted to understand.
Hi, Ankita. In the first half of this year, there was an issue with black oil demand in that area totally. There was more demand for white tanks than for black tanks, and the prices there also, black product prices also came down. Now we are gradually seeing that it's come back to some sort of normalcy. We are hopeful that we should be slightly less than last year, not greatly down, but slightly less than last year. At the same time, EBITDA numbers at MELT will be maintained at last year's level despite this disruption in black oil.
Okay. How about any, and this concession is also expiring next year, right, 2027? Is there any scope for renewal there, or this will be handed over back?
You're talking about the operations and maintenance contracts we have in Fujairah, right?
Yes.
Because the other terminal, oil terminal, is our own. There is no period as such. These operations and maintenance contracts will be renewed because they have a practice of giving on a five-year basis. This is a second run, and once it comes to nearer terms, because they are very happy with that performance, it's the one-on-one what we have got from the government of Fujairah. This is likely to be continued only.
Rollover of that contract will happen.
As Rinkesh mentioned, there has now been an uptake at this terminal. Can you see the scaling up maybe one or two years down the line to a higher number in terms of volume contribution?
Fujairah Port and Dibba Port will certainly be going on the higher scale. Dibba is the first year of operations and is doing very well. Their numbers will also increase. Fujairah is also increasing now because there is one more mine which has increased the production, which is opposed to this port. We can see the quantum going up in the years to come.
Got it. Great. That's it from my side. Thank you and all the best.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Alok Deora from Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited. Please go ahead.
Good evening, sir. I just had a couple of questions. First is on logistics. We are looking at these kind of investments over the next four or five years. Is it fair to assume that a large part would be through the acquisition mode, I mean, through the inorganic route, or we would be kind of doing it a little bit on the organic side as well?
It will be a mix of both. As I told you, a great part of it will be on the creation of low-cost terminals. We are looking at these GCTs in a very, very serious way. GCTs will be a very big driver for our growth, along with, you know, wherever we get good acquisition opportunities, we'll be taking that.
Sure. You have highlighted this just to get some more clarity. The iron ore volumes, which declined, which kind of impacted the second quarter, in October, they have kind of normalized, or we are just hoping that it will kind of normalize during the quarter?
No, no. If you see the entire quarter of Q2, it was around even less than a million. It's around INR 3 lakh. Here now, we are gradually seeing that this month it would be upwards of around INR 5 lakh. We are seeing a gradual uptick in that portion.
Okay. Q3 also could be a YoY kind of a decline?
It might be unless there's a good, you know, movement, a price increase. Otherwise, we'll be still seeing a YoY decrease. We have to, you know, kind of reduce the losses. There we are seeing that the losses might get reduced.
Got it. Just one last question. The overall margins which have come down in the quarter as compared to the last quarter, you know, it's kind of below 50%. That's primarily driven by the volume only. I mean, had the volumes been normalized, the margin would have been on the upper side.
No, this is a console P&L which we have shared, which includes Navkar Corporation also. Last year, Navkar Corporation was not there. Navkar Corporation came in October first week. Navkar Corporation is typically a 15% EBITDA business, whereas Ports, if you see the Port business has given a 53% EBITDA margin, which is a 1% up from what we have compared last year. On a weighted average basis, it's at 46% or 47%.
Right. Going forward, it would be like a weighted average would be like a 47%- 49% kind of a range?
Yeah, somewhere oscillating between 45% and 50%.
Sure. With Navkar margins, can it inch higher ahead as the volumes also scale up?
Yeah, a bit higher, not much.
Okay. Okay. Sure. That's all from my side. Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Our next question is from the line of Nidhi Shah from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yes. Thank you so much for taking my question. My first question is on the contribution of Dharamtar and Jayagadh in our H1 EBITDA on percentage terms.
Dharamtar and Jaigarh, EBITDA margins range around 65%- 70%.
Not the margin. I was wondering, in the console, what is the contribution of Dharamtar and Jayagadh?
Maybe I can get back to you on this. It's a very number-specific question. Maybe after the call, I'll get back to you.
All right. My second question, could you also let me know about Tuticorin? My second question would be on the tonnage tax. You mentioned that some tonnage tax impact was there this quarter. Where is this tonnage tax exactly coming from?
This is coming in Jayagadh Port, wherein we have four mini bulk carriers in operation. Overall, this year, we are expecting an EBITDA of around INR 50 crore from those operations. Tonnage tax savings or the tax savings will be around INR 17 crore, which we are projecting for FY 2026.
My last question would be the progress of the slurry pipeline of laying down was only about 5 Km this quarter. Is that because of the rains, and will we see?
Yeah, yeah. Generally, this monsoon period totally gets waterlogged because these are very low-lying areas. They get totally waterlogged, and actual real work starts happening somewhere, you know, November types. Even there also, we try to do the places where, you know, there's no waterlogging. That is the main reason.
We could see that, you know, the progress on this would significantly.
Correct. Correct. You are absolutely correct.
Okay. Yes, that's it. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take that as a last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Over to you, gentlemen.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude, I'd like to highlight that JSW Infrastructure has had a remarkable journey over the past two decades. Looking ahead, the future holds even greater promise as we develop three new greenfield ports, advance value equity brownfield expansion projects, and scale up our logistics platform to support long-term growth. The investments and efforts we are making today are poised to deliver significant gains in EBITDA and profitability starting FY 2027-2028. Thank you once again for your time. Wishing you and your families a joyful, prosperous, and safe Diwali.
Thank you.
Thanks, operator.
Thank you. On behalf of Motilal Oswal Financial Services, that concludes this conference. Thank you all for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.