In a presentation given to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Adani Group claimed that it had raised new debt totaling £1.92 billion in the two months following the publication of the Hindenburg report, bringing its gross outstanding debt to £22.72 billion. Despite having cash on hand of £4.03 billion, the group's net debt increased by almost 17% to £18.68 billion this year.
The figures demonstrate that, despite group companies repaying $2.1 billion of marginlinked, share-backed borrowing and an additional $500 million in debt for purchasing Ambuja Cement, the Adani Group's investment pipeline is still strong and is being supported by new debt.
According to sources, Adani would use some of the new debt for the Adani Enterprises-owned Navi Mumbai airport. The group also intends to secure new investment for its Adani Enterprises-affiliated Mundra Petrochem project.
The group, in its presentation on the end-March financial position submitted this week, said that domestic and international banks continue to show confidence across businesses by disbursing new debt and rolling over existing lines. It further added that, following the credit rating affirmations, the company has access to credit facilities, and international and domestic debt capital market programmes are ongoing.
The infrastructure group had earlier said it was pre-paying debt to reduce leverage. The presentation said the group’s combined net debt/ ebitda improved to 3. 27X in FY23 from 3. 81X a year earlier despite the additional borrowing.