Adani group EBITDA jumps 47% to record Rs 43k cr in H1

New Delhi: Adani Group on Monday said pre-tax profit or EBITDA of its portfolio companies that span from apples to airports jumped 47 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year to Rs 43,688 crore on growth across businesses.

"Core infrastructure businesses that provide a high degree of predictability, stability and multi-decadal visibility contributed 86 per cent of total EBITDA," it said in a statement.

Trailing 12-month EBITDA of Rs 71,253 crore ($8.6 billion) is around 3x of FY19 (April 2018 to March 2019 fiscal year) EBITDA.

"The integrated business portfolio, which focuses on fortifying India's infrastructure development, has delivered a strong performance across all its businesses. The substantial cash flows from these businesses lay the foundation for sustained future growth," the statement said.

The group had the highest-ever cash balances of Rs 45,895 crore ($5.5 billion) at the end of September.

Headquartered in Ahmedabad, the Adani portfolio is the largest and fastest-growing portfolio of diversified businesses in India with interests in logistics (seaports, airports, logistics, shipping and rail), resources, power generation and distribution, renewable energy, gas and infrastructure, agro (commodities, edible oil, food products, cold storage and grain silos), real estate, public transport infrastructure, consumer finance and defence.

"The incubation continues to be a success story with airports, green hydrogen and other incubating assets emerging strongly and now contributing near 8 per cent of the portfolio EBITDA," said Jugeshinder (Robbie) Singh, Group CFO.

"The Portfolio has withstood the test of time and has a track record of tremendous growth in spite of macroeconomic and other challenges.” In the first half of fiscal year 2024, the Adani portfolio of companies demonstrated robust financial performance while further enhancing its strong credit profile.

During the April-September period, the portfolio level EBITDA stood at Rs 43,688 crore (USD 5.3 billion), up 47 per cent year-on-year. This growth outpaced the portfolio's historical five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) trajectory of 26.3 per cent.

"The H1 FY24 EBITDA surpassed the full-year EBITDA of FY22. Additionally, trailing 12-month EBITDA is notably close to three times FY19 EBITDA," the statement said.

The growth was driven by performance of the core infrastructure businesses, which grew by 52 per cent to Rs 37,379 crore, contributing 86 per cent of the total EBITDA.

These businesses include the utility (Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Power and Adani Total Gas), transport (Adani Ports & SEZ) and other infrastructure businesses (those being incubated by Adani Enterprises – green hydrogen integrated manufacturing, airports and roads).

"The expansion reflects the portfolio's focused investment in infrastructure development, which is yielding significant results. AEL's strategic initiatives to bolster its infrastructure portfolio are in line with the rising demand for sustainable and robust infrastructure in India and beyond," it said.

On major business wise highlights, the Adani group said the incubation under Adani Enterprises continues to progress well, with the assets contributing 8 per cent of the overall EBITDA.

The emerging business of the low-cost green hydrogen integrated manufacturing delivered 212 per cent year-on-year revenue growth and 10x EBITDA growth. The airports business under Adani Enterprises witnessed a 29 per cent y-o-y growth in passengers in the first half, thus resulting in revenue growth of 42 per cent.

The cement business (Ambuja & ACC) saw cost and operational synergy benefits of the portfolio, resulting in H1 FY24 EBITDA for this business more than doubled year-on-year on a single digit volume growth.

The renewable business under Adani Green Energy reported EBITDA growth as high as 76 per cent y-o-y, achieving a milestone EBITDA of Rs 8,325 crore ($1 billion) for the first time on trailing twelve month basis.

In another significant milestone for Adani Ports & SEZ, the domestic cargo volumes growth exceeded the 200 million tonnes mark for the first time within a six-month period. "This accomplishment led to the ports business to grow at over 2x of the overall cargo volume growth in India," the statement added.