With Rs 2.2 lakh cr, Adani Group among most indebted businesses in India

Using debt financing to expand its business, the company's gross debt was up by a whopping 42% year-on-year

With a gross total debt of Rs 2.2 lakh crore by March-end, the Adani Group is among the most indebted businesses in India.

Using debt financing to expand its business, the company's gross debt was up by a whopping 42 per cent year-on-year, according to a report by Business Standard.

The group's debt-to-equity ratio was at a four-year high of 2.36, up from 2.02 a year ago, the publication's data showed.

However, despite the high headline debt, the group's debt-servicing capacity has seen a major improvement on the back of earnings, analysts told the publication. Also, a decline in interest rates in the past two years due to the pandemic has also meant low growth in interest costs despite higher borrowings.

Read | Gautam Adani is richest Asian and busiest dealmaker with a $17 billion spree

The group, led by Asia's richest man Gautam Adani, recently clinched a deal to acquire Holcim's Indian subsidiaries including ACC Cements and Ambuja Cements, for $10.5 billion, marking the ports-to-energy conglomerate's entry into the cement sector.

The deal will make billionaire Adani Group the second-largest player in the domestic cement sector and help boost the company's existing cement businesses - Adani Cementation Ltd and Adani Cement Ltd.

Gautam Adani, a first-generation entrepreneur whose net worth currently sits at $102 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, has rapidly diversified into new areas like data centres, digital services, cement and media. After acquiring one of the most controversial coal mining projects in Australia, Adani is making a firm pivot toward sustainable energy long term.

(With Bloomberg inputs)