Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s embattled conglomerate said its key debt metrics have improved, as it seeks to restore investor confidence after a US short seller attack earlier this year.
Adani Group’s net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization improved to 3.27 times at the end of March compared with 3.81 times a year ago, while cash balance rose to 403.5 billion rupees ($4.9 billion), the company said in a report on Monday.
The financial health of Adani companies has been under increased scrutiny after research firm CreditSights last year termed the ports-to-power conglomerate “deeply overleveraged.” Questions intensified in January after US short seller Hindenburg Research accused the group of inflating revenues and manipulating stock prices.
The short seller’s claims triggered a drop in the dollar bonds issued by Adani Group firms, and their equity market capitalization lost as much as $153 billion. They’ve since recouped some of the losses. Adani has repeatedly denied both Hindenburg’s allegations and the assessment by CreditSights.
The company said funds from operations and balances stood at 778.9 billion rupees as of the end of March. Nearly 18% of gross debt is reserved in the form of cash balances that provide liquidity cover for more than one year of debt servicing, according to the updated credit note.
Domestic and international banks continue to show confidence by disbursing new debt and rolling over existing lines, according to the report. The group’s assets rose by more than a trillion rupees to 4.2 trillion rupees in the last financial year, when the conglomerate added a newer cement business.
In a vote of confidence for the conglomerate, US-based GQG Partners has invested about $2.5 billion in five Adani Group stocks since the Hindenburg report.
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