Adani Ports shares extend gains for sixth straight session; here’s why

Extending its gaining streak for the sixth straight session, shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India's largest private ports operator, rose over 1% in opening trade on Friday, in an otherwise weak broader market. The Adani Group stock has climbed 6% in six trading days.

Shares of Adani Ports rose as much as 1.4% to ₹1,457.70 on the BSE today. At the time of reporting, APSEZ shares were trading 0.56% higher at ₹1,446.05, with a market capitalisation of ₹3.12 lakh crore. Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty were trading flat with negative bias.

LIC subscribes to Adani Ports’ entire ₹5,000 cr NCD

APSEZ shares gained today amid reports that the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India subscribed to its entire ₹5,000 crore non-convertible debenture (NCD) issue. Currently, LIC holds 8.10% shares in the company.  

The 15-year bond, carrying a coupon of 7.75%, was issued on Thursday, which is the firm’s largest rupee deal and the first since January 2024. The debt proceeds from the issue will be used for capital expenditure, refinancing existing debt, and meet general corporate purposes.

On May 22, the board of directors of APSEZ gave an “in-principle approval” for the issuance of NCDs worth up to ₹6,000 crore in one or more tranches on a private placement basis. The NCDs are proposed to be listed on the BSE and/or the NSE.

“The board of directors of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone at its meeting held on May 22, 2025, has given its in-principle approval for issuance of non-convertible debentures for capex/refinancing of existing debt and general corporate purpose for an aggregate amount not exceeding ₹6,000 crore in one or more tranches on a private placement basis,” it said in an exchange filing.

The board of the company is also scheduled to meet tomorrow (May 31) to consider and approve the buyback of certain of its USD bonds, subject to market conditions.

According to a recent credit rating report by CRISIL, APSEZ has witnessed improvement in leverage with net debt to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) at 2.25 times as on March 31, 2024, compared to over 3 times as on March 31, 2023. Net debt-to-Ebitda stood at 2.1 times as on December 31, 2024.

The company in its March quarter earnings report mentioned that its net debt to Ebitda stood at 1.9x for FY25. Liquidity is supported by strong cash accrual, moderate bank limit utilisation, and cash balance of ₹8,991 crore as of March 31, 2025.

According to the CRISIL report, debt protection metrics are also comfortable with adjusted interest coverage at 6.28 times and net cash accruals to adjusted debt at 0.24 times as of FY24. The expected fund flows from operations at over ₹14,000 crore will be adequate against debt repayment of ₹6,000-8,500 crore. While most of the debt is non-amortising, refinancing risk is minimal, it said.

The billionaire Gautam Adani-led conglomerate has more than 80% of debt in foreign currency, with dollar denominated bonds contributing 64% of ₹46,279 crore as on March 31, 2024. The foreign exchange risk is minimal given natural hedge available with 25-30% of revenue also coming in foreign currency in addition to the use of derivative instruments for hedging, the report noted.

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