Ports in deep water over poor finances

The country's major ports have failed to improve their financial health despite performing well in terms of productivity and traffic handled. The net surplus of the major ports dropped 42 per cent to Rs 615.9 crore in 2003-04 from Rs 1,076.73 crore in 2002-03.

Net surplus is the sum of the operating and the non-operating surplus. While operating income includes earnings from the traffic handling operations of ports, operating expenditure is the amount spent on salaries and wages, dredging, inventories and port maintenance. The non-operating surplus takes into account capital income and expenditure and payment towards pension and voluntary retirement schemes.

The net surplus of the ports had nearly doubled in 2002-03.

Huge losses recorded by the Mumbai and Ennore ports, coupled with steep declines in the net surpluses of the Kandla and Chennai ports, has pulled down overall profits.

A large pension fund liability and increased expenditure on operation, maintenance and dredging has also strained ports' financial resources.

Mumbai recorded a net loss of Rs 217 crore, largely because of an outgo of Rs 210 crore towards the pension fund. Even Chennai faced a 41 per cent decline in its net surplus to Rs 74 crore in 2003-04 from Rs 126 crore in the previous year. Much of it was the result of a jump in the contribution towards the pension fund from Rs 24 crore in 2002-03 to Rs 66 crore in 2003-04.

The operating profit of the ports went up 15.61 per cent to Rs 1,530 crore in 2003-04 from Rs 1,323 crore in 2002-03. Mumbai's operational surplus improved by 108 per cent from a low base of Rs 3.72 crore in 2002-03.