Rama Krishna Sangem
There may be cases against Adani and his group of companies, but there is no problem of debt servicing default. The domestic rating agency CRISIL Ratings today said Adani Group has sufficient liquidity and operational cash flows to meet debt obligations and committed capital expenditure (capex) plans over the medium term.
The statement follows the United States Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) civil complaint against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet Jaain, key functionaries of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL). The complaints were filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The charges relate to allegations of securities fraud, wire fraud, and violation of the SEC guidelines that led to materially false and misleading statements in the bond offering documents of AGEL with respect to anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.
CRISIL Ratings, in a statement, said it has taken note of these developments and their likely impact on the financial flexibility of the group, including the fall in the market capitalisation of the listed companies of the group. It has also taken note of the movement in bond yields and the calling off of the $600 million bond offering of AGEL.
No negative action so far
“Based on management and select lender feedback, CRISIL Ratings understands that these developments have not led to any negative actions so far by lenders or investors, such as acceleration of debt repayment or spread resets. Further, we understand the Adani Group has the flexibility to reduce certain discretionary capital expenditure (capex) depending on developments in financial markets and future capital availability,” it added.
The Adani Group reported a healthy Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs 82,917 crore for FY24 with a net debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 2.19 times. Cash balance was over Rs 53,000 crore across eight listed operating entities as of September 2024 against long-term debt maturities of approximately Rs 27,500 crore and go-to-market or construction facility of Rs 8,919 crore during October–March FY25 and Rs 2,137 crore during FY26, it added.
The issue at hand is sub judice. The rating agency has ratings on 24 entities of the Adani Group. “All our outstanding ratings are under continuous surveillance,” CRISIL said. These entities include Adani Airports Holdings Ltd, Adani Power Ltd, Mumbai International Airport Ltd, Ambuja Cements Ltd, and ACC Ltd.
