Q2 Adani Ports profits scale new highs, while Adani Enterprises falters on weak commodities business

Mumbai: The board of Adani Enterprises Ltd, the group’s flagship company, on Tuesday approved raising up to ₹25,000 crore through a rights issue, even as the company’s revenue and profit declined due to weakness in its coal trading business

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), the group’s cash generator, meanwhile, reported robust growth in earnings as it handled more cargo and operated more ports than the previous year.

Adani Enterprises, which incubates new businesses for the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate and also houses one of its oldest resources trading businesses, reported a 6% year-on-year drop in its total revenue to ₹21,844 crore. While income expanded across its airports, renewable energy products and mining services businesses, its largest business segment, integrated resources management, saw income drop by nearly a third to ₹6,843 crore.

This led to a hit in margins too, despite margin expansion in all other segments. The consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) fell by a tenth year-on-year to ₹3,902 crore.

The company recorded a one-time gain of ₹2,969 crore as it sold approximately 10.42% of its stake in AWL Agri Business Ltd, formerly known as Adani Wilmar. It also made a one-time gain of ₹615 crore from transferring the stake in Adani Cementation Ltd, a subsidiary, to Ambuja Cements in exchange for equity.

These exceptional gains helped it nearly double its profit year-on-year to ₹3,199 crore. However, net of these gains, profit shrank.

The financials were impacted due to a reduction in trade volume and price volatility in the company’s primary industry vertical, said Jugeshinder Singh, group CFO-Adani Group. Going forward, he said that the company’s Ebitda will reflect the impact of its new and upcoming projects, including the Navi Mumbai airport, its new copper plant in Kutch, Gujarat, and the Ganga Expressway in Uttar Pradesh, which is about 90% complete.

Raising funds

Adani Enterprises will raise up to ₹25,000 crore through a rights issue for eligible shareholders, as ratified by the company’s board of directors on Tuesday. This follows a fundraise of ₹4,200 crore through qualified institutional placement by the company in October 2024.

Adani Ports, the cash cow of the Adani Group, reported a 29% year-on-year rise in its profit for the September quarter. The company’s revenue grew by 30% to ₹9,167 crore.

The company is now operating 19 ports and terminals, four of which are international.

Ebitda grew 27% to ₹5,550 crore. The company’s key Mundra port in Gujarat reported a 20% increase in its Ebitda to ₹1,515 crore. The new transhipment terminal at Vizhinjam in Kerala, which was only in a trial phase last year, contributed ₹153 crore to Ebitda, while the newly acquired Gopalpur port added another ₹16 crore.

“Our strong, across-the-board profitable growth momentum truly underscores the success of our unmatched integrated transport utility value proposition,” said Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director and CEO of APSEZ. “Logistics and marine businesses have continued their exponential growth trajectory, further reinforcing our port-gate to customer-gate offering.”