Adani m-cap still 34% below Jan '23, but financials healthier
Hindenburg Research, the controversial short-selling firm, winds down, the impact of its stinging report on the share prices of Adani Group, one of its most notable targets, still lingers. The group's total market value is still 34% below the levels when the Hindenburg report was released on January 24, 2023, accusing the conglomerate of 'stock price manipulation' and 'accounting fraud'. The silver lining is that the conglomerate's financial parameters are pointing to better health.
Out of the 11 Adani stocks listed then, seven are yet to recover to the pre-Hindenburg levels though the Nifty index has rallied 29% since then. Three stocks, such as Adani Total Gas, Adani Energy Solutions, and Adani Wilmar, are trading 50-83% lower; while NDTV, Adani Green and Adani Enterprise are down by 30-50%. Adani Power has doubled since the Hindenburg report while Adani Port gained 48%.
Amid heightened investor scrutiny on its finances after the report, the group has cut its debt, while maintaining its pace of growth. By September 2024, the group's portfolio-level net debt-to-EBITDA ratio improved significantly, dropping to 2.4 times from 3.8 times in September 2022.
During the same period, the group's gross assets surged by 49% to ₹5.53 lakh crore, while the trailing 12-month EBITDA climbed 47% to ₹83,440 crore. Cash
