Adani Ports will prepay a short-term debt due next month amounting to Rs 1,000 crore to win back investor confidence after a short seller’s scathing report in January.
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd will prepay the debt raised through commercial paper after it repaid Rs 1,500 crore of similar debt to SBI Mutual Fund due on Monday as scheduled, the company’s spokesperson said. India’s largest-private-sector ports operator used its cash balance and funds generated from business operations to pay its short-term debt due on Monday.
Earlier this month, Adani Ports CEO Karan Adani said the firm expects to repay loans, including bonds, worth Rs 5,000 crore next financial year. Its cash and cash equivalent were Rs 6,257 crore as of Dec. 31, while its net debt was Rs 39,277 crore.
“APSEZ is targeting FY24 EBITDA of Rs 14,500 crore-15,000 crore. Besides an estimated capital expenditure of Rs 4,000 crore-Rs 4,500 crore, we are considering total loan repayment and prepayment of around Rs 5,000 crore, which will significantly improve our net debt to EBITDA ratio and bring it closer to 2.5x by March 24,” said Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.
On Monday, Adani Ports’ scrip on BSE closed 0.15% higher at Rs 579.65.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, part of the embattled Adani Group, posted a lower quarterly profit in December quarter as forex losses soared.
The company, India’s largest private port operator, is one of several Adani Group companies caught in the eye of a storm since January 24 when US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research raised concerns on the conglomerate’s debt levels and use of tax havens.
Adani Ports said its consolidated net profit fell 16% to Rs 1,316 crore in the third quarter.
Revenue from operations rose 17.5% to Rs 4,786 crore due to improved realisations, offsetting a drop in cargo volumes in Mundra, India’s largest private port, and the Dhamra Port.
However, profit was hit by foreign exchange losses ballooning to Rs 315 crore from Rs 12.7 crore a year ago, due to mark-to-market losses.