New Delhi:

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti visited Adani group’s Khavda renewable energy project – the largest in the world, in fresh signs of the conglomerate having moved past Hindenburg attack and winning new backing

“Inspired by my visit to the Khavda Renewal Energy Facility in Gujarat, where I learned about @AdaniGreen’s innovative projects advancing India’s zero-emissions goals. Sustainable energy is a cornerstone of environmental stewardship, and our bilateral partnership is key to shaping the solutions for a cleaner and greener future for the region and the world,” Mr Garcetti said in a post on X after visiting Khavda on July 16. He also posted pictures of the visit.

Inspired by my visit to the Khavda Renewal Energy Facility in Gujarat, where I learned about @AdaniGreen‘s innovative projects advancing India’s zero-emissions goals. Sustainable energy is a cornerstone of environmental stewardship, and our bilateral partnership is key to shaping… pic.twitter.com/ODaK7ipbkU

— U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti (@USAmbIndia) July 16, 2024

Adani Green Energy Ltd is developing the world’s largest renewable energy project of 30,000 MW on barren land at Khavda in Kutch, Gujarat. Built across 538 square kilometers, it is five times the size of Paris and almost as large as Mumbai city.

AGEL has operationalised 2,000 MW cumulative solar capacity or 6 per cent of the planned 30,000 MW, within 12 months of commencing work and the entire project is to be completed by 2030.

Group chairman Gautam Adani replied by posting a picture with Mr Garcetti and thanking him for the visit. “Grateful to @USAmbIndia for his visit to Adani’s 30 GW Renewable Energy site at Khavda and Mundra Port. Invaluable insights on geopolitics, energy transition and India-U.S. relations in an open and candid Q&A with Adanians.

Amazing to see his adoption of Indian culture, from kadak chai to celebrating holi, to playing cricket to speaking in Hindi and eating chole bhature every day!”

The visit and making it public is being seen as a sign of confidence the US government has in India’s largest infrastructure conglomerate.

This came months after US short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged corporate fraud and stock manipulation at Adani Group. Adani Group has repeatedly denied all allegations and has scripted a comeback story with most of its listed companies erasing losses that the Hindenburg report induced.

Adani Group has been instrumental in India’s strategic infrastructure initiatives, particularly outside its borders, where it competes directly with China’s extensive ‘String of Pearls’ and ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI).

Its acquisition of Haifa port in Israel, outbidding Chinese interests, highlighted its expanding global influence in the face of Chinese competition.

Hindenburg published the damning report on Adani Group just when it made the Haifa acquisition.

Senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani has alleged that a businessman with Chinese links commissioned the Hindenburg report. He claims Chinese spy Anla Cheng and her husband Mark Kingdon hired Hindenburg to produce the report on Adani.

Cheng is the founder and CEO of The China Project (formerly SupChina), an independent digital news, business, events, and consulting marketplace platform. Before this, Cheng ran a Family Office of the Asian Hedge Fund of Funds, Centenium Capital. The couple used Uday Kotak-owned Kotak Mahindra Investments Limited (KMIL) to set up a trading account for short-selling Adani shares, according to a SEBI notice.

Mr Garcetti also visited Adani’s head office in Ahmedabad, where he emphasised the significance of the US-India partnership and India’s growing importance in the geopolitical landscape.

Adani Group through its projects in infrastructure, mainly ports and power, has been competing with China across various regions, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Middle East, Israel, Africa, Australia and Myanmar. The group has also secured approval to build a port in Vietnam.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Sirius Digitech Limited, a joint venture between the Adani Group and Sirius International Holding (Sirius), a subsidiary of International Holding Company (IHC), announced the signing of a binding agreement for the acquisition of Coredge.io Private Limited, a sovereign AI and cloud platform company.

Coredge.io is a sovereign AI and cloud platform company offering secure, scalable, and compliant cloud solutions to government and enterprise clients. 

“As nations increasingly prioritise data security, it is more important than ever that organisations have the option to retain their data within national borders rather than relying solely on the public cloud. Sovereign Data Centers become extremely important for protecting sensitive information and maintaining national security, given the exponential growth in artificial intelligence-driven demand for computation and sovereign data stack,” Jeet Adani, Director of Adani Group said. 

“An additional benefit of this acquisition is our ability to put AI capabilities directly in the hands of organisations that require specialised sovereign cloud services for AI training and inferencing,” Mr Adani added.

“Coredge’s has demonstrated a global presence with the ability to scale solutions through sovereign AI cloud services that are globally available but locally operable,” said Ajay Bhatia, CEO of Sirius International Holding.

“This step underscores our commitment to offering a portfolio of secure, trusted and localised cloud AI technologies to our customers and partners,” he said.

Coredge is a venture with an innovative approach to sovereign cloud technology, offering highly secure, scalable and designed-for-AI cloud solutions tailored for government and enterprise clients. 

Founded as a bootstrap company in 2020, Coredge has expanded its client base across countries like Japan, Singapore and India. It will aim to capitalize on the trillion-dollar global opportunity for the sovereign cloud.

Its expertise in accelerating hyper-local cloud service providers with stringent data sovereignty and compliance measures has positioned it as a leader in the field. 

“Partnering with Sirius marks an exciting new chapter for our sovereign AI and cloud platform business, both in India and globally,” said Arif Khan, CEO of Coredge.io “Together, we can accelerate the development and delivery of advanced AI services while upholding security, privacy and digital sovereignty principles, helping customers across the globe drive technological transformation while complying with their data ethics principles.”

Coredge aims to build the complete solution stack for sovereign data centres that will include everything from bare metal servers to services, like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) built on open-source technologies, to enable Sirius Digitech to provide Machine Learning as a Service (MLaaS) as applications get built on its infrastructure.

Sirius Digitech remains committed to supporting and investing in Coredge’s sovereign AI and cloud platform business, meeting evolving customer requirements worldwide.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

In a stunning claim that he has called a “smoking gun”, senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani has alleged that a businessman with Chinese links had commissioned the report by short-seller Hindenburg Research which led to shares of Adani Group companies taking a hit.

Earlier this week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had said that foreign portfolio investor Kingdon Capital Management LLC and its entities aided Hindenburg in indirectly participating in Adani Enterprises Ltd. An investigation by the markets regulator also exposed that Kotak Mahindra and Hindenburg conspired together to take short positions in Adani shares.

In a lengthy post on X, Mr Jethmalani said Mark Kingdon, the American businessman behind Kingdon Capital Management LLC, had hired Hindenburg to prepare a report on the Adani Group. Mr Kingdon also approached Kotak’s international investment arm Kotak Mahindra Investments Limited (KMIL) to set up an offshore fund as well as offshore accounts to trade in Adani shares. This led to the creation of the Kotak India Opportunity Fund (KIOF). 

This fund allegedly took short positions in shares of Adani Group Companies through the Mauritius route before the Hindenburg report was made public and nearly $ 40 million for this was given by the Kingdon Master Fund. 

The smoking gun referred to by the senior lawyer was his revelation that Mr Kingdon’s wife Anla Cheng, a Chinese-American who has a large shareholding in the Kingdon Master Fund, is a lobbyist for Chinese interests in the United States. 

“She was the CEO of #SupChina a pro-China media corporate initiative which morphed into an entity called The China Project after a whistleblower accused SupChina of news subversion in China’s interest in a sworn statement before the US Congress,” the lawyer wrote. 

“#TheChinaProject shut down after calls for an investigation into its subversive activities by some US senators including having links with the Chinese Communist Party. The latter clearly has a bone to pick with the Adani group,” he added.

Mr Jethmalani suggested that the actions of Ms Cheng and Mr Kingdon were prompted by the Adani Group thwarting Chinese interests in several parts of the globe, including outbidding Chinese players for the Haifa Port in Israel and for coal projects near Sri Lanka’s Jaffna. 

Key Questions

Having laid out his points, Mr Jethmalani posed three major questions. 

“Who introduced the Kingdons to KMIL, what due diligence was conducted by KMIL regarding the Kingdons and did it participate in the short sell as a principal,” he asked.

The second question was whether all the Indian people, organisations and entities who helped Hindenburg knew about the short-selling plan and whether they benefited from it. Mr Jethmalani specifically mentioned politicians, in an apparent dig at the opposition, which has used the Adani-Hindenburg issue to target the group and the government on several occasions.

The lawyer also asked whether these people and entities knew about the Chinese link. 

‘Misrepresentations’

SEBI, in its show cause notice to Hindenburg Research LLC said the organisation’s report contained misrepresentations and inaccurate statements which built a convenient narrative through selective disclosures and catchy headlines to cause panic in Adani share prices, thereby deflating the prices of the Adani group stocks. 

Hindenburg has claimed that it did not provide research notice to Kingdon before sharing the draft report and Kingdon did not share the trading notice with Hindenburg before the report was shared publicly through mass email.

A Kotak Mahindra International Ltd spokesperson in a statement said KMIL and KIOF “unequivocally state that Hindenburg has never been a client of the firm nor has it ever been an investor in the Fund. The Fund was never aware that Hindenburg was a partner of any of its investors.”

“KMIL has also received a confirmation and declaration from the Fund’s investor that its investments were made as a principal and not on behalf of any other person,” the spokesperson stated.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

New Delhi:

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a show cause notice to Hindenburg Research LLC, Nathan Anderson, and the entities of Mauritius-based foreign portfolio investor Mark Kingdon for trading violations in the scrip of Adani Enterprises Ltd. leading up to Hindenburg Report and thereafter. 

The regulator has alleged that Hindenburg and Anderson have violated regulations under the SEBI Act, SEBI’s Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices regulations, and SEBI’s Code of Conduct for Research Analyst regulations.

While FPI Kingdon has allegedly violated the SEBI Act, SEBI’s Prevention of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices regulations, and SEBI’s Code of Conduct for Foreign Portfolio Investors.

The regulator pointed out that the Hindenburg and the FPI entities undertook a misleading disclaimer that the report was solely for the valuation of securities traded outside India when it clearly pertained to listed entities in India. 

The regulator said that Kingdon aided Hindenburg to indirectly participate in Adani Enterprises by collaborating with the short seller to trade in the company’s futures in the Indian derivatives market and shared profits with the research firm.

Hindenburg continues to defend its January 2023 report.

Ahmedabad:

Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said on Monday that with record results, robust cash positions, and the lowest debt ratios in the company’s history, their path ahead is illuminated with the promise of even greater accomplishments and “the best is yet to come”.

The Adani Group, India’s largest infrastructure conglomerate, began its annual week where all the listed group companies have their annual general meetings (AGM) lined up back-to-back.

The week commenced with the keynote address from Gautam Adani, speaking to his 6.7 million shareholders globally.

Gautam Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur known for building India’s largest infrastructure entity, highlighted three pivotal themes in his address – the group’s resilience in overcoming external challenges, India’s ascent on the global stage, and the future opportunities for the conglomerate and its extensive shareholder base of 6.7 million shareholders across 11 listed companies.

Drawing from his upbringing in the deserts of Gujarat, the soft-spoken Gautam Adani underscored the value of perseverance instilled by his mother, stating: “The true measure of our success is less about our achievements and more in our ability to stand firm in the face of adversity. In my case, I picked my lessons from my mother. Growing up in the harsh deserts of Banaskantha, what I learnt from her is that true strength lies in perseverance.”

“It is this perseverance that has allowed us to become one of the most admired companies in the country. And our perseverance was never more evident than that we demonstrated this past year. In the face of unprecedented attacks on our integrity, we proved our resilience,” he remarked, attributing the Group’s recovery to its core values of courage, trust and commitment.

Highlighting India’s growing influence globally and its pivotal role in addressing climate change, Gautam Adani asserted: “The world is witnessing the rise of India. This is India’s moment. We are now the force for stability, cooperation and progress in a complex world. And it is India’s macroeconomic stability and ambitious growth plans that inspire our confidence.”

With India targeted to become a 10 trillion-dollar economy by FY32, the spend on infrastructure is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20-25 per cent and reach a cumulative spend of $2.5 trillion.

“Given that, at the very core, we are an infrastructure company, we are well positioned to capitalise on the upcoming opportunities,” said the Group Chairman.

Outside the government, Adani Group remains the largest infrastructure developer with its extensive portfolio spanning power, ports, roads, airports, data centres, defence, manufacturing, logistics, and material.

“Our ability to conceptualise and then handle complexity and execute very large projects in difficult conditions is an unmatched competency that we continue to get better at,” Gautam Adani said, as he spoke about the group’s various ultra-scale projects including the world’s largest renewable park at Khavda, Gujarat and real estate project at Dharavi, Mumbai.

“And the outcomes are manifested in the financial numbers we delivered,” he added.

In FY24, the Group delivered a record performance registering a $10 billion EBITDA (Earnings before interest tax and depreciation) milestone with a 45 per cent growth year-on-year. Its net profit grew by 70 per cent. The group holds cash of more than $7 billion and the group-level debt is down to 2.2 times, much lower than infrastructure industry standards of 3.5-4.5 times.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani met the Prime Minister of Bhutan on Sunday and announced the signing of an agreement for a 570 MW green hydro plant in the country. Mr Adani also met Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck along with the prime minister in Thimphu.

“Absolutely fascinating meeting with Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Hon. Prime Minister of Bhutan. Signed an MoU with DGPC for a 570 MW green hydro plant in Chukha province. Admirable to see @pmo_bhutan advancing the vision of His Majesty The King and pursuing broad ranging infrastructure initiatives across the kingdom. Looking forward to working closely on hydro & other infra in Bhutan,” he said.

The Chairman of Adani Group also shared photos with the two leaders. Mr Adani said that he was honoured to meet the King and was inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the “ambitious eco-friendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centres and data facilities”.

Honoured to meet His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan. Inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the ambitious ecofriendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centers and data facilities. Excited to collaborate on these… pic.twitter.com/YlTNJEZwfD

— Gautam Adani (@gautam_adani) June 16, 2024

“Honoured to meet His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck of Bhutan. Inspired by his vision for Bhutan and the ambitious ecofriendly masterplan for Gelephu Mindfulness City, including large computing centers and data facilities. Excited to collaborate on these transformative initiatives as also on green energy management for a carbon negative nation!” he said in a post on Instagram

In November last year, Mr Adani met the King and said he was excited to explore opportunities for the Adani Group to contribute to green infrastructure development for “one of our happy and warm neighbours”.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Congress on June 15 said it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that competition among corporates is not stifled, oligopolies or monopolies do not emerge and corporate takeovers are free and fair.

“It is also the government’s responsibility to ensure that undue advantage arising out of access to political power is not exercised,” party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said.

His comments came after the Adani Group acquired Penna Cements while strengthening its share in the cement sector in southern India.

“Aap chronology samajhiye (understand the chronology): September 2022: Adani acquires Ambuja Cements and ACC, to become country’s second largest cement player. August 2023: Adani acquires Sanghi Industries, India’s largest single-location cement unit. June 2024: Adani acquires Penna Cements, giving it substantial market share even in the last remaining region of South India.” he said.

“Upcoming: Adani is exploring the acquisition of Saurashtra Cement, Vadraj Cement, and the cement business of Jaiprakash Associates,” Mr. Ramesh claimed in a post on X.

Quoting former RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya, he said the noted financial economist had established that the five big conglomerates, including the Adani Group, are building monopolies in 40 sectors, including in the cement sector.

“This growing monopolisation is linked to India’s shaky economic growth, unemployment crisis, and high inflation. In 2015, when a common man used to spend ₹100 on goods, ₹18 would go as profit to the business owner — in 2021, the owner now gets ₹36 in profits,” Mr. Ramesh claimed.

“Firms must grow. Companies must expand. But at the same time, the government has a responsibility to ensure competition is not stifled, oligopolies or monopolies do not emerge, takeovers are free and fair, and undue advantage arising out of access to political power is not exercised,” the Congress leader said in his post.

In the biggest single-day fall in four years, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty plunged by nearly 6 per cent on Tuesday as vote counting trends showed the BJP may not have a clear majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

Reversing its Monday’s sharp gains of over 3 per cent, the 30-share BSE Sensex nosedived 4,389.73 points or 5.74 per cent to close at a more than two-month low of 72,079.05. In the day trade, the barometer tanked 6,234.35 points or 8.15 per cent to hit a nearly five-month low level of 70,234.43.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 1,982.45 points or 8.52 per cent to 21,281.45 during the day. Later, it ended at 21,884.50, a sharp decline of 1,379.40 points or 5.93 per cent. Sensex and Nifty had previously declined by around 13 per cent on March 23, 2020, when lockdown was imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Heavy profit booking in PSUs, public banks, power, utilities, energy, oil and gas, and capital goods shares dragged the markets into the deep negative.

“The unexpected outcome of the general election sparked a wave of fear selling in the domestic market, reversing the recent substantial rally. Despite this, the market maintains its expectation of stability within the coalition, led by BJP as the major election winner, thereby mitigating substantial downside in the medium term.

“This is likely to lead to a major shift in political policy with a focus on social economics, which will have a positive effect on the rural economy,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Vote counting trends showed that the BJP was poised to be the single largest party but could be well short of an absolute majority, leaving it dependent on its NDA partners to form government.

When the Narendra Modi government came to power on May 16, 2014, Sensex had rallied 261.14 points or 0.90 per cent to settle at 24,121.74, and Nifty jumped 79.85 points or 1.12 per cent to 7,203. The BSE benchmark had hit the 25,000-mark in intra-day trade on that day.

On May 23, 2019, the Sensex declined 298.82 points or 0.76 per cent to settle at 38,811.39, while the Nifty ended 80.85 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 11,657.05. The BSE benchmark had hit the 40,000-mark for the first time ever, while the Nifty breached the 12,000-level on that day.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, NTPC plunged over 15 per cent, while State Bank of India tanked more than 14 per cent, Larsen & Toubro tumbled over 12 per cent and Power Grid dived more than 12 per cent. Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and JSW Steel were the other big laggards.

On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever jumped 6 per cent while Nestle climbed 3 per cent. Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma also emerged as the gainers.

All the sectoral indices, except for FMCG, closed in the red.

Adani group shares also declined. Adani Ports & SEZ tanked over 21 per cent, Adani Enterprises by nearly 20 per cent, Adani Power by 17 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions by 20 per cent and Adani Green Energy by over 19 per cent.

“Markets have reacted sharply to the initial trends of the NDA leading on around 290 seats which look way behind the exit polls which were projecting around 350-370 seats. With the NDA still looking to form a government, though with the important support of coalition partners, markets look jittery about the prospects of strong decision making.

“Markets believe that the reformistic approach, which was a hallmark of the previous two terms, might take a backseat in the third term. However, our sense is that it is still early to jump to conclusions and should ideally wait for a clearer picture,” said Manish Chowdhury, Head of Research, StoxBox.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge tanked 8.07 per cent and smallcap index plunged 6.79 per cent.

Among the indices, utilities dived 14.40 per cent, power tumbled 14.25 per cent, oil and gas by 13.07 per cent, services by 12.65 per cent, capital goods by 12.06 per cent, energy by 11.62 per cent and metal by 9.65 per cent.

As many as 3,349 stocks declined while 488 advanced and 97 remained unchanged on the BSE. Also, 292 stocks hit their 52-week low, while 139 reached their one-year peak.

On the NSE, 2,438 stocks declined while 242 advanced and 70 were unchanged. The number of stocks to hit a 52-week high stood at 83 while 271 stocks fell to their 52-week low.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled lower while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended with gains. European markets were trading lower. US markets ended on a mixed note on Monday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.88 per cent to USD 76.89 a barrel.

Markets jumped sharply on Monday after exit polls predicted a massive win for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls. The BSE benchmark soared by 2,507.47 points or 3.39 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 76,468.78 on Monday, marking its biggest single-day gain in three years. The NSE Nifty climbed 733.20 points or 3.25 per cent to finish at 23,263.90.

Logo of the Adani Group installed at a roundabout on the ring road in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. FILE
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Shares of all Adani Group companies tumbled on Tuesday as the initial trend showed BJP winning a lesser number of seats than predicted in exit polls.

The stock of Adani Ports plummeted 20 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions plunged 19.80 per cent, Adani Power slumped 19.76 per cent, Ambuja Cements tumbled 19.20 per cent and the group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises tanked 19.13 per cent on the BSE.

Erasing the record-rally of the previous trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 4,131.44 points or 5.40 per cent to 72,337.34, and the Nifty slumped 1,263.3 points or 5.43 per cent to 22,000.60.

Shares of all Adani Group companies rallied sharply on Monday, with Adani Power surging nearly 16 per cent in line with a massive surge in the equity market, taking the combined market valuation of the ten listed firms to Rs 19.42 lakh crore.

The stock of the majority of the group firms, including Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Adani Power and Adani Green, also bounced back to their pre-Hindenburg Research report levels on Monday.

The BJP-led NDA was ahead with leads in 296 seats and the opposition INDIA bloc not far behind in 227 seats as votes were counted for the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, setting the course for a third consecutive term as prime minister for Narendra Modi but with a stronger opposition.

While the BJP was ahead in 236 of 542 seats, the Congress had leads in 97, signalling a dip for the ruling party from the 303 score in 2019 and a spike for the opposition party’s 52 from the last election. An election marked by acridity and acrimony could end with the treasury benches in reduced numbers and an opposition with more teeth.

ALSO READ:Adani Group’s FY24 net jumps 55%; mulls $90-billion capex

In trends available till 11.45 am, the NDA was close to the 300 mark, comfortably over the magic figure of 272 with the opposition INDIA bloc making significant gains.

Shares of all group companies surged on Friday by up to 14 per cent after US brokerage Jefferies put a bullish view on the group that is back to an expansion spree with a planned USD 90 billion capital expenditure over the next decade.

New Delhi:

Adani group saw a 55 per cent profit surge in the fiscal year ended March 2024 as the apples-to-airport conglomerate is back on an expansion spree and eyeing a USD 90 billion capex over the next decade.

Emerging from a damning report of a US short seller, which hit market value of its listed companies, Adani group in 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal focused on containing debt, reducing founder share pledge and consolidating business in core competencies.

This helped net profit surge to Rs 30,767 crore for the group’s listed companies in the fiscal from Rs 19,833 crore a year ago, according to exchange data and analysts.

The 5-year CAGR (compound annual growth rate) for profit growth was 54 per cent.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) rose 40 per cent to Rs 66,244 crore despite a 6 per cent fall in the revenue.

“Total group EBITDA grew 40 per cent year-on-year in FY24 (5-year CAGR of over 27 per cent), group raised fresh funds from equity/debt/strategic investors, promoter increased stake in group companies and group Mcap rebounded,” Jefferies said in a note. “The group is back on an expansion spree and eyeing USD 90 billion capex over next decade.” Group leverage was at a multi-year low, the US-based brokerage said.

“Net debt at the group level (8 companies plus debt related to cement business acquisition) remained stable at Rs 2.2 lakh crore in FY24 vs Rs 2.3 lakh crore. Net debt/EBITDA improved materially to 3.3x FY24 EBITDA vs 5x year-on-year,” it said.

Adani Ports and Adani Power saw a drop in net debt in FY24. Increase in leverage for Adani Enterprises and Adani Green was on the back of new capex projects undertaken by companies.

In FY24, the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises commissioned an ingot wafer unit as part of solar module manufacturing, wind turbine facility and copper smelter. Adani Cement completed the Sanghi Cement acquisition while promoters infused more funds in the company.

Adani Ports acquired Gopalpur port, Adani Power commissioned 1.6 GW Godda power plant, Adani Green added 2.8GW renewable energy capacity and commenced operations of solar power project in Khavda, Gujarat, and Adani Energy Solutions put up 1,244 circuit kilometers of transmission lines.

On the way forward, Jeferries said, “Adani Enterprises is amid scaling its captive manufacturing capacity towards starting green hydrogen production by FY27; Navi Mumbai Airport appears likely to commission by 4QFY25; data centre projects are scaling up.” Adani Cement is looking to double capacity, Adani Ports has outlined its 5-year business road map that targets EBITDA growth at 18 per cent CAGR in FY24-29.

“Ports EBITDA is expected to rise at 16 per cent CAGR led by expansion and ramp-up with the company targeting 1 billion tonnes cargo volume by 2030 (15 per cent CAGR),” it said, adding Adani Green has raised its 2030 power capacity target from 45 GW to 50 GW now including 5GW pumped hydro.

Adani Total Gas plans to grow new business segments including LNG station network for transport and mining sector and EV charging facilities. Commodities firm Adani Wilmar is focused on distribution expansion, ramping alternate channels and improving mix of premium brands.

Jefferies recommended ‘Buy’ on four group companies — Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Energy Solutions and Ambuja Cements.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)