Adani group flagship firm posts Q3 profit slump as coal trading segment weighs

Penultimate game of the five-match series gives the hosts another opportunity to seal the series.

Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the Adani group, reported a slump in third-quarter profit on Thursday, impacted by performance at its key coal trading division.

The company's consolidated net profit declined to Rs 57.83 crore ($6.68 million) in the October-to-December quarter, from Rs 1,888 crore rupees a year ago.

Its shares fell 4.6 per cent after the results and were among the top losers in the benchmark Nifty 50 index, which was down 0.1 per cent.

The company's overall revenue fell about 9% to Rs 22,848 crores.

Revenue from the coal trading segment, which contributes more than a third of overall revenue, fell 44 per cent to Rs 8,980 crore.

India's coal demand softened, in line with power generation growth that dropped to 3% for the quarter on the back of a fall in industrial demand and amid a broader slowdown in the economy, according to analysts.

In the middle of last quarter, U.S. authorities accused the group's billionaire founder Gautam Adani and other executives of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts. The group has denied the allegations.

($1 = 86.5640 Indian rupees)