Adani AGM 2024: 'Hindenburg incident was designed to defame us,' Gautam Adani tells shareholders

Adani AGM 2024: 'Hindenburg incident was designed to defame us,' Gautam Adani tells shareholders

Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani delved on the Hindenburg incident at the 32nd annual general meeting of the conglomerate on June 24 and cited the  short-seller's over 100 pages long report on the group as "baseless accusations".

"It was a two-sided attack – a vague criticism of our financial standing and, at the same time, an information distortion campaign, dragging us into a political battlefield. The attack was a calculated strike two days before the closing of our Follow-on Public Offer,"  said Adani about the US short seller's scathing report against the conglomerate last year.

Hindenburg fiasco

Hindenburg, in a report, accused the group of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens triggering a sell-off in Gautam Adani's ports-to-power conglomerate.

Later, an expert panel, established by the Supreme Court, found no conclusive evidence of stock manipulation by the Adani Group, though it recommended improvements to the regulatory framework to protect investors.

"Amplified by a segment of vested media, it was designed to defame us, do maximum damage and erode our hard-earned market value," Adani added.

He further reiterated the group's efforts to navigate the crisis and said that the company raised an additional Rs 40,000 crore,  covering the next two years of its debt repayment.

"We safeguarded our portfolio against any volatility by pre-paying Rs 17,500 crore in margin-linked financing,"  said Adani in his speech at the AGM.

The group's net debt to EBITDA improved to 2.2 from 3.3.

"Our commitment to operational excellence and transparent disclosures was validated not only by rating agencies and the well-informed financial community, but also by respected global investors like GQG Partners, TotalEnergies, IHC, QIA and the US Development Finance Corporation – all of whom chose to invest in us.," added Adani.

Bullish on India

The group is optimistic on the domestic growth and is eyeing higher growth opportunities from government's infrastructure push.

"Given the multiplier effect, the government of India has rightly focused on infrastructure development by raising its funding by 16% to over Rs 11 lakh crore for this financial year. It is worthwhile to note that annual spending has tripled in the last 5 years," Adani further said.

He stressed on the role of state governments in implementing the initiatives related to infrastructure development.

"With the government now in its third term, your company is well positioned to continue the economic and social programs," he added.

Segment updates

Adani gave an update on the conglomerate's future plans and balance sheet and reiterated the group's goal  to develop 30 GW capacity in the next five years, which it claims will be enough to power nations like Belgium and Switzerland.

Given renewable energy’s growth potential, Adani Green Energy revised its FY 2029-30 target from 45 GW to 50 GW. In the year, we added 2.8 GW, 15% of India’s total renewable capacity addition, Adani said.

Meanwhile, he noted that passenger traffic at Adani-operated airports stood at 88.6 million.

He also restated the group's ambitions of reaching combined cement capacity of 140 million tonne per annum by 2028. " Ambuja Cements was the lead supplier for India's longest sea bridge - the 21.9 km long Mumbai trans harbour link," added Adani.

For Adani Energy Solutions, transmission order book stands at Rs 17,000 crore, and our smart metering order book has expanded to 228 lakh units.