Mercantile Ports and Logistics Ltd (LSE:MPL, LSE:) shares sank 40% to 1.6p after the operator of the Karanja port near Mumbai said trading volumes in December were lower than expected and restoring its debt was taking longer than hoped.
It said this was due to another port in the region being acquired, which led to many of Karanja's customers buying coal from the other port where prices were cut to clear stockpiles.
As a result, the company expects revenue for the calendar year to be roughly £5.4 million, compared to £4.8 million in its first year of operations in 2022 and £2.7 million in the first half of the year.
"It is important to note that overall demand for coal in the region has not decreased and, therefore, the stockpiles of coal that were at the acquired port will need to be replenished and stored elsewhere", the company said, adding that it is therefore "confident that the volumes of coal that it had expected in December will be deferred to early 2024".
MPL confirmed that market conditions and coal volumes "have now normalised" with contracts for new commodities expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Chairman Jeremy Warner Allen said: "the company enters 2024 with real momentum and the board expects significant progress at its facility in the coming months".
The company also hailed the official opening of the new Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), officially called Atal Setu Nhava Sheva Sea Link - India's longest bridge, which is set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi and begin carrying traffic from this Friday, freeing up the land that had been borrowed and strengthened by bridge contractor Tata Daewoo to handle the company's container business.
Work with its consortium of state-owned lenders to restructure MPL's debt facility is ongoing.
The company later announced that non-exec director Dmitri Tsvetkov had purchased £10,000 of shares at 1.62p via his SIPP.