Essar Shipping to undergo rename and restructure

Mumbai: The board of Essar Shipping has announced its decision to change the company name to Essar Ports & Logistics. The company is also to undergo a reorganisation process for a more linear structure.

As part of this plan, Essar Oilfields Services Limited (EOSL), which was acquired by India Shipping (IS) earlier this month, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Essar Shipping Limited (ESL) through a merger process with IS in September.

Additionally, Essar Ports & Terminals is to purchase a 100% stake Vadinar Oil Terminal from ESL (which owns 90.5%) and Essar Shipping and Logistics (9.5%) on February 29 �" the same day on which Mauritius registered subsidiary Essar Ports & Terminals will also acquire Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd (EBTL) and EBTL Salaya.

At its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on Saturday, Essar Shipping also announced a drop in profits for the first nine months of this year from Rs1440m ($36m) to Rs875m ($21.8m) due to increased interest and depreciation despite a 21% increase in revenue to Rs15.2bn ($380.3m) during the same period.