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Adani group expects the net debt of its flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, to stand at 258.15 billion rupees at the end of fiscal year 2023 ending in March
Published : 15 Feb 2023, 11:44 AM
India's Adani group said on Tuesday that its companies face no material refinancing risk, or near-term liquidity issues, in its latest attempt to calm investors spooked by a US short-seller's critical report on its business practices.
Led by billionaire Gautam Adani, the group's seven listed companies bearing his name have together lost about $120 billion in market value since a Jan 24 report by Hindenburg Research alleged improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation, and flagged concerns over high debt.
Adani has rejected the concerns in detailedrebuttalsof the Hindenburg report's allegations and criticism that it had unsustainable debt.
In a long-awaited credit report issued byAdanito Indian exchanges on Tuesday, the apples-to-airports group said there was "no materialrefinancingrisk and near-termliquidityrequirement as there is no near-term significant debt maturity".
Adaniexpects the net debt of its flagship firm,AdaniEnterprises, to stand at 258.15 billion rupees ($3.12 billion) at the end of fiscal year 2023 ending in March, up from 240.49 billion rupees a year earlier. On an overall basis, the net debt of the group's portfolio companies is estimated to be 1.96 trillion rupees versus 1.48 trillion rupees a year earlier.
The group's debt service cover, a ratio of its cash flow versus debt serviced during the year, is seen at 1.87 times at the end of fiscal 2023, compared to 2.03 times at the end of September.
The credit report comes amid growing market uncertainty about the company's future capital raising plans after the massive falls in share prices ledAdaniEnterprises to pull a $2.5 billion share sale this month.
TheAdanicrisis triggered investigations by regulators, briefly stalled parliamentary proceedings and ignited street protests by opposition parties, who accused the government of favouring the conglomerate.
On Tuesday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah rebutted the allegations, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party has "nothing to hide or be afraid of" on the controversy over theAdanigroup.
"The Supreme Court hastaken cognisanceof the matter. As a minister, if the Supreme Court is seized of the matter it is not right for me to comment,"Shah, widely considered the most powerful politician in India after Modi, told the ANI news agency.
"But in this, there is nothing for the BJP to hide and nothing to be afraid of," Shah added, referring to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Rivals, including the main opposition Congress party, accuse Modi and the BJP of longstanding ties to theAdanigroup, going back nearly two decades when Modi was chief minister of the western state of Gujarat. GautamAdaniand Shah also come from the same state.
Modi's immense popularity, however,appears intactfor now, according to approval ratings.
FLAGSHIP'S RESULTS
There was some respite for theAdanigroup on Tuesday as shares of its flagship companyAdaniEnterprisesrose as much as 10% after it reported aquarterly profitof 8.2 billion rupees ($99.12 million) for the December quarter, compared to a loss of 116.3 million rupees a year before.
"Shares are reacting to the results and reversing some shorts that might have built up due to speculation," said Sameer Kalra, equity research analyst and founder of Target Investing.
Shares ofAdaniPowerandAdaniGreen Energyfell 5% in a wider Mumbai marketthat was up around 1%.
Two large companies within theAdanigroup are likelyto repaytheir short-term commercial paper (CP) debt as it comes due over the next few months, instead of rolling it over as is normal, two merchant bankers and a company official directly familiar with the matter said.
