Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday received maiden interim dividend of Rs. 4.90 crore from Pipavav Railway Corporation Limited (PRCL) in New Delhi.
The dividend cheque for the current financial year was handed over to Mr. Kharge by PRCL Chairman and Member (Traffic) D.P. Pande in the presence of senior Railway Ministry and PRCL officials.
Considered the first flagship joint venture, PRCL has been formed with equity participation of Railway Ministry and Gujarat Pipavav Port Limited to undertake the construction, operation and maintenance of the 271 km long broad gauge rail line between Surendranagar and Pipavav port.
Describing the operation of the company as a “success story of public private partnership (PPP) initiative”, Mr. Kharge said, “There is a need for such infrastructure development projects.”
He further said, “It is heartening to know that this joint venture has now come in a position to give dividend.”
The company has registered a profit of Rs. 67.36 crore before paying tax and Rs. 46.41 crore profit after tax and has a net worth of Rs. 207 crore as on March 31, 2013.
In the current financial year up to September 2013, the company has carried 4.23 MT of cargo and earned revenue of Rs.112.86 crore compared to 3.11 MT of cargo and revenue earnings of Rs.78.57 crore during the corresponding period of last year.
There has been a cumulative growth of 36 per cent in the volume and 44 per cent in revenue earned during the first 6 months of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period of previous financial year.
During 2012-13, the company has carried 6.86 MT of cargo on the Pipavav line and earned revenue of Rs. 178.98 cr from its freight operations as compared to 6.83 MT of cargo moved and revenue of Rs. 151.28 cr earned during 2011-12, indicating a growth of 18 per cent in revenue, despite economic slowdown.
PRCL Company successfully completed the construction of the Surendranagar-Pipavav railway line project which began operations in April 2003.
PRCL is also a container train operator and is in the process of carrying out a study for reviving this business segment.
