With India on track to become a $10 trillion economy by 2032 and infrastructure expected to grow by 20-25% to reach $2.5 trillion, the Adani Group, as a d The infrastructure “at its very core” is “well placed to capitalize on the opportunities ahead”. , he said.
Speaking at the annual shareholders’ meeting of his group’s flagship company Adani Enterprises Ltd, India’s second-richest person spoke of the unprecedented crisis his conglomerate faced last year in following a damning report from a US short seller.
“We faced baseless accusations from a foreign short seller that called into question our decades of hard work. In the face of an unprecedented attack on our integrity and reputation, we fought back and proved that no challenge could weaken the foundation on which your Group was built,” said Adani, who turned 62 on Monday.
Hindenburg Research has published a litany of findings, accusing the Adani Group of stock manipulation, accounting fraud, inflating valuations, siphoning off money and creating a complex network of shell companies that invested in the entities of the group, in defiance of regulatory standards. Adani Group denied all allegations, but that didn’t stop its market value from falling by $150 billion to its lowest level.
“Typical short sellers target financial market gains. It was different. It was a two-sided attack: a wave of criticism of our financial situation and, at the same time, a campaign of distortion of information, drawing us into a political battlefield,” he said .
The report arrived two days before AEL’s ₹
The follow-on public offering of 20,000 crore – India’s largest ever – was closed in January 2023.
“Amplified by an invested media segment, it was a,” he said, adding that “given the noise,” the group returned the offering proceeds after successfully raising ₹20,000 billion.
Addressing the strategy, he said the group had raised ₹40,000 crore to cover debt repayments for the next two years, prepaid ₹17,500 crore in margin-linked financing, debt reduction and improved business focus.
“This approach has not only strengthened our financial resilience, but also increased our flexibility for future expansion,” he said. “The headwinds that tested us became the very ones that made us even stronger.” He then presented the 30 GW renewable energy park that his group is developing in Khavda, Gujarat, in one of the most difficult deserts in the world, which will be enough to power countries like Belgium and Switzerland, the redevelopment of Dharavi which promises to transform the largest slum in the world. over the next decade, and the development of the Drishti 10 Starliner drone which will help protect Indian borders.
“And the results are evident in the financial figures we delivered. We have reached an unprecedented milestone in 2023-2024. We recorded our highest EBITDA in ₹82,917 crore – or around $10 billion – a remarkable increase of 45 per cent,” he said, adding that net profit soared 71 per cent to a record high of 45 per cent,” he said. -he declares. ₹40,129 crore while net debt to EBITDA declined from 3.3x to 2.2x over the past year.
All this resulted in a historic level of liquidity for the Group with a cash balance of ₹59,791 billion.
“With our record results, strong cash positions and the lowest debt ratios in our history, our path ahead is illuminated by the promise of even greater achievements,” he said. “The possibilities before us are immense. We are stronger than ever. And the best is yet to come.” Adani said that in a world that sits at the crossroads of geopolitical tensions, the growing fight against climate change and technological shifts disrupting lives and work, the world is witnessing the rise of India.
“This is India’s time,” he said. “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.” India, he said, is no longer at the crossroads of destiny. “We are at the dawn of our greatest growth phase. In this decade, our country is on track to become the world’s third largest economy,” he said.
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