Billionaire and Adani group head Gautam Adani, speaking at the Adani annual general meeting 2023, on Tuesday invoked growth prospects of “matrabhumi” India and touted plans to build a massive hybrid renewable energy project as he tried to put the controversy over Hindenburg Research’s short-seller report behind him.
At the annual shareholders meeting of his ports-to-energy conglomerate, Adani said the group’s assets and operating cashflows have got stronger and healthier and it will continue to consolidate what it has built while looking at expanding its horizons.
Takeaways from Gautam Adani’s speech at Adani Enterprises Ltd’s annual meeting:
Adani group:
The Adani group of companies set new financial performance records for the financial year 22-23. The total EBITDA or Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization grew by 36% to ₹57,219 crore. The total income grew by 85% to ₹2,62,499 crore, and total PAT grew by 82% to ₹23,509 crore. The group’s accelerating cashflow further improved the net debt to run rate EBIDTA ratio from 3.2x to 2.8x.
“On the partnership front, the Adani Group continues to attract global investment partners aligned to our long-term approach of building and operating world-class assets. In March 2023, we successfully executed a secondary transaction with GQG partners of USD1.87 billion despite the volatile market conditions,” Adani said.
Adani Enterprises:
The group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises Limited, continued to successfully demonstrate its incubation capabilities with new businesses accounting for a massive 50% of its EBITDA in the financial year 2023, he said.
“The key projects include the Navi Mumbai Airport and the Copper Smelter. Both are on schedule. The Navi Mumbai Airport is preparing for Operational Readiness and Airport Transition by December 2024.
“NDTV is expanding its international programming and coverage to serve a vast range of audiences across the globe. Our data centre JV AdaniConneX is on course to set up 350 MW capacity in the short term – and 1 GW capacity in the medium term. This is by far the largest order book in India,” the business tycoon added.
Adani Green:
Adani said the Adani group is set to play a critical role in India’s net zero journey. Adani Green Energy Limited has been commissioned the world’s largest hybrid solar-wind project of 2.14 GW in Rajasthan.
“Our operational renewable energy portfolio has grown by 49% to over 8 GW. This is the largest operational renewable portfolio in India. Our focus remains on producing the lowest cost green electron at scale – and I would like to reaffirm our target of 45 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030,” Adani said.
We are now building the largest hybrid renewables park in the world – right in the middle of the desert – in Khavda. It will be the most complex and ambitious project that we have ever executed. Spread over 72,000 acres, this project will be capable of generating 20 GW of green energy. And we intend to build it faster than any project in our execution history.
Adani Ports:
According to Adani, the ports business continued to be a pillar of strength on all fronts. APSEZ continues to be amongst the most profitable port operators globally with port EBITDA margin of 70% – and, by 2030, “we intend to be not only the most profitable port company in the world but also India’s largest transport utility capable of handling a billion tonnes of cargo annually”, he said.
“By then, APSEZ will be carbon neutral and will also have tripled its EBIDTA. In the next 12-24 months, APSEZ will commission India’s largest transshipment hub in Vizhinjam, and also a port in a Colombo. And our acquisition of Haifa Port in Israel will allow us to link our ports all the way across the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, thereby positioning us to capitalize on both the India growth story and the much larger regional growth story,” the billionaire said.
Adani Power:
“We successfully commissioned the 1.6 GW ultra-supercritical Godda power plant and are now supplying power to Bangladesh. This marks our entry into transnational power projects,” he said.
Adani Transmission:
ATL will also take Mumbai to 60% renewable power making it the first mega city in the world to achieve over 50% power from solar and wind.
Adani Total Gas:
Adani Total Gas Limited expanded access to clean cooking fuel to 1,24,000 households this year with a 46% increase in revenue to ₹4,683 crore, he said. “ATGL is transforming into a full spectrum sustainable energy provider with rapidly expanding urban EV charging infrastructure and biofuel businesses. Gautam Adani has touted plans to build a massive hybrid renewable energy project as he tries to put the controversy over Hindenburg Research’s short-seller report behind him,” Adani said.
On Hindenburg’s allegations:
The billionaire came out swinging in his speech to shareholders, describing Hindenburg’s report of corporate fraud at his companies in January as “malicious” and as “false narratives.” His reputation took a major hit following the report and Barclays Plc, his go-to bank for many years, is scrutinising its ties to Adani.
