Shares of most of the Adani group firms ended lower on Monday, with the group companies' combined mcap witnessing a sharp fall of Rs 9.5 lakh crore after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report.
After a $110 billion rout in market value, embattled Adani group got some reprieve on Tuesday after shares of most of its listed firms rebounded on bourses and international rating agencies said there was no credit risk for lenders with exposure to the group. The group, which is in the midst of a political storm after US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research's adverse report dated January 24 triggered a meltdown in group stocks wiping out billions of dollars in market value, also had a mixed day with the quarterly results of four of its entities, particularly Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone reporting a 12.94 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,336.51 crore for the December quarter 2022. Shares of flagship firm Adani Enterprises settled nearly 15 per cent higher at Rs 1,802.50 apiece while shares of Adani Wilmar jumped 5 per cent to end at Rs 399.40 on BSE.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's embattled conglomerate said its balance sheet is "very healthy" and is laser focused on continuing business momentum, as it looked to reassure investors to keep faith in the conglomerate despite a share rout triggered by a damning report by a US short-seller. Group CFO Jugeshinder (Robbie) Singh in an earnings call said the group is confident of its internal controls, compliance and corporate governance. Separately, it released a compendium of group companies to highlight that it has adequate cash reserves and has ability to refinance debt.
Owing to a big rise in the market capitalisation of group companies such as Adani Green Energy and Adani Transmission, the group promoters, the Gautam Adani family, have closed the wealth gap with Mukesh Ambani, the promoter and owner of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). Ambani continues to top India's billionaire league table. The Ambani family's net worth was estimated to be Rs 8.06 trillion (around $108 billion) on Tuesday against the Rs 6.87 trillion (around $92 billion) of the Adani family.
India's largest private port operator Adani Ports and SEZ (APSEZ) Ltd has emerged as the highest bidder for the West Bengal government's greenfield deep-sea port project at Tajpur in a neck-to-neck fight with JSW Group, a source said on Friday. APSEZ and Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group were the only two entities that took part in the financial bid round, though there were more port and logistics majors who had expressed initial interest in the estimated Rs 7,000-crore project in Purba Medinipur district. "APSEZ is the highest bidder, offering a share of 0.25 per cent of gross revenue. "It was marginally higher than the second bidder who offered 0.23 per cent," a senior government official said, without wanting to be named.
Companies manufacturing fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) continue to see rural stress sustain and it continues to trail urban demand. At the Confederation of Indian Industry's FMCG summit, managements of various companies pointed out urban demand continued to grow while rural demand remained under pressure because incomes were under stress in rural areas. "Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry and we are yet to see any revival in demand," Sudhir Sitapati, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) at Godrej Consumer Products
Days after completing a $6.5 billion acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, billionaire Gautam Adani said his group has planned to double cement manufacturing capacity and become the most profitable manufacturer in the country. He saw a multifold rise in cement demand in India on the back of record-breaking economic growth and the government's infrastructure creation push, which will give significant margin expansion. In a speech made at an event to mark the completion of the acquisition on September 17, the Adani Group founder and chairman said the ports-to-energy conglomerate has in a single stroke become the second largest cement manufacturer in the country.
Expect fast-moving consumer goods makers (FMCG) to raise prices again next month owing to raw materials, transport, labour and packaging material costs remaining high or becoming even costlier. Whether it is packaged wheat flour and basmati rice or biscuits and shampoos, these products will become 2-10 per cent more expensive. Adani Wilmar will hike the price of its packaged wheat flour by 5-8 per cent and of its basmati rice by 8-10 per cent next month.
At the heart of the bidding war is the firm's edible oil refining capacity
Amid a political furore over a meltdown in the Adani group shares, stock market data shows it is not only the plunge now but the sharp surge of the past also drew regulatory attention and enhanced surveillance. Adani group stocks have taken a huge beating on the bourses, losing billions of dollars in market value, after US-based activist short-seller Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group. The Adani group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements.
The revised offer will mean the lenders will have to write off 60 per cent of their dues.
While reforms may translate into new opportunities for firms like ITC, Adani Wilmar and Reliance Retail, farmers are unlikely to use it for fear of upsetting commission agents.
Gautambhai has shown that he has ability to withstand payment delays or vexatious court cases. That is where he is on a more comfortable wicket than many others. A revealing excerpt from R N Bhaskar's Gautam Adani: Reimagining Business in India and the World.
'Due to rural stress, volumes continue to remain an issue for the industry, and we are yet to see any revival in demand.'
Major edible oil companies, including Adani Wilmar and Ruchi Soya, have reduced the maximum retail price (MRP) of their products by 10-15 per cent to provide relief to consumers, industry body SEA said on Monday. The prices have been reduced by Adani Wilmar (on Fortune brands), Ruchi Soya (Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Gold and Nutrella brands), Emami (Healthy & Tasty brands), Bunge (Dalda, Gagan, Chambal brands) and Gemini (Freedom sunflower oil brands), it said. OFCO (Nutrilive brands), Frigorifico Allana (Sunny brands), Gokul Agro (Vitalife, Mahek and Zaika brands) and others have also reduced prices, it added.
Among the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Titan were the major gainers. Nestle, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel were the laggards.
Gautam Adani was the world's third and Asia's richest man a month back but a damning report by a US firm triggered a massive sell-off in shares of his apples-to-airport group, plunging his own wealth by $80 billion and the tycoon slipping to No.30 on the world billionaire index. Adani's sprawling conglomerate, which spans from sea ports to airports, edible oil and commodities, energy, cement and data centres, is under attack by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which successfully deflated electric-vehicle maker Nikola Motors in 2020. Hindenburg, which held short positions in unidentified shares of Adani Group firms through its US-traded debt and offshore derivatives, on January 24 accused the conglomerate of "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud" and using a number of offshore shell companies to inflate stock prices.
The festival season has already begun in the west and south of India with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, respectively, and consumer companies are witnessing a pick-up in sales compared to pre-Covid levels. Retailers, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables companies expect their sales to grow in double digits this festival season compared to pre-pandemic times, as there are no curbs on movement now. Adani Wilmar expects sales volume to be higher by 15-20 per cent as rural India has largely witnessed good monsoon rains, and employment has picked up in urban areas.
'Food inflation is important and if that is controlled, then consumption will go up.'
Ganguly, who endorses Fortune Rice Bran Cooking Oil, felt discomfort on January 2 while performing physical exercise in the home gymnasium at around 11 am. Following this, he underwent an angioplasty at the Woodlands Hospital.
Three business houses are likely to be in the final race to strike a deal with Germany's Metro AG for investing in its India unit -- Metro Cash & Carry. Industry sources in the know named Reliance, Adani Group, and Thailand's conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) as potential frontrunners to acquire a partial or full stake in the Gurugram-headquartered Metro Cash & Carry, which has 31 stores and 5,000 direct employees. Around 20 companies, including strategic and private equity investors, were approached by the German chain, inviting them to bid for the Indian wholesale business, according to a source aware of the M&A developments.
As Ayodhya readies itself for the glittering, much-awaited consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir on January 22, and as millions of pilgrims and devotees pour into the holy city for the momentous event, companies are rushing to do their bit and be a part of the mega celebrations. Some are offering a part of their profits as donations, telcos are beefing up the number of cellular towers to ensure better connectivity, and there are those distributing jalebis and food platters.
April-June 2023 (Q1FY24) was a mixed quarter for India's top family-owned business groups. Three of the big five in terms of revenue reported a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) decline in combined net sales and two saw a Y-o-Y fall in net profits. Combined net sales of all listed companies in the five groups were up just 2.2 per cent Y-o-Y at Rs 6.6 trillion in the quarter, down sharply from the 10.3 per cent in the March 2023 quarter (Q4FY23) and 42.8 per cent in Q1FY23.
Polycab India, Power Finance Corporation, Shriram Finance, and Union Bank of India appear poised to transition from the mid-cap to the large-cap category within the domestic mutual fund industry. Their market capitalisation (m-cap) now ranks among the top 100, which is the threshold for the large-cap universe defined by the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Edible oil makers are gearing up to replicate the sachet revolution in the shampoo market in the 1990s, which increased the product's penetration in rural and semi-urban areas. Following in the foot steps of Bunge India, owner of Dalda vanaspati, which introduced sachets for its blended edible oil brand, market leader Adani Wilmar plans to roll out Rs 5 sachets of Fortune, its edible oil brand, in a couple of months.
Two youngsters in Gujarat are using their resources to fund dialysis for kidney patients.
Analysts said with more power sector companies referred to the NCLT by banks, large companies would be at an advantage.
The sharp rally in the broader markets has propelled India's market capitalisation (m-cap) to a new high. The combined m-cap of all BSE-listed firms rose to Rs 291.9 trillion in intraday trade on Thursday before settling lower at Rs 290.9 trillion. The previous record was on December 14, 2022, at Rs 291.3 trillion.
'Our target will come from rural areas as there are more outlets there.'
'In staples, we have still managed in rural areas.'
The rally in the equity markets in the second half of 2023 has led to a sharp surge in the cutoff for stocks to qualify as largecaps and midcaps. On the latest list put out by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), the smallest largecap stock now has a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 67,000 crore, 35 per cent higher than in July 2023. In the case of midcaps, the cutoff has surged 26 per cent to Rs 22,000 crore.
UBS stepping in to save Credit Suisse with a $3.2-billion acquisition has provided the beleaguered Swiss bank's India employees a glimmer of hope. The surprise deal - engineered by the Swiss government - has triggered optimism of fewer job losses at Credit Suisse's India unit and better synergies at key verticals, such as wealth management and investment banking. "UBS is a much stronger hand. Coming within its fold will give Credit Suisse's wealth management and investment banking divisions a good home.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved on Wednesday made its first big acquisition when it paid Rs 4,350 crore to take over soya food brand Nutrela-maker Ruchi Soya through an insolvency process. The acquisition will help Patanjali acquire edible oil plants as also soyabean oil brands such as Mahakosh and Ruchi Gold.
Acquisition of stressed infrastructure assets has pushed its debt to over Rs 1 lakh crore, highlighting concerns about its growth strategy.
'We need to encourage the next generation of farmers to continue in farming'
Among the many exits from the billionaire's club in 2022 are D Uday Kumar Reddy of Tanla Solutions (net worth down 66 per cent), Sushil Kanubhai Shah of Metropolis Healthcare (down 65.7 per cent), Vijay Shekhar Sharma of One97 Communications (down 66 per cent), and C K Birla (down 43.4 per cent).
The benchmark Sensex is 2.4 per cent shy of a new lifetime high but the market capitalisation (m-cap) of all companies listed on the BSE is already in the record books. At Thursday's (August 18) closing price, the total m-cap of 4,776 firms on the BSE stood at Rs 280.5 trillion, surpassing the previous high of Rs 280 trillion on January 17. This, even if the Nifty Midcap 100 is currently 5.4 per cent below its lifetime high, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index is down over 20 per cent.
Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in rural areas witnessed a sequential recovery in the latter half of December, according to data by retail intelligence firm Bizom. Also, demand witnessed in the previous month compared to November was higher from tier-3 cities than mega cities. Overall demand from rural areas declined 0.2 per cent on a month-on-month basis in December while it was down 17 per cent in November, according to Bizom's data.
'A weak monsoon always spells disaster. But it's too early to have a pessimistic view.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances