Adani Power shares soar 20% post first-ever stock split, hit 52-week high

Shares of Adani Power rallied up to 20% on Monday, in an otherwise weak broader market, as the stock turned ex-split today. The stock climbed to its 52-week high of ₹170 in intraday trade against its adjusted previous closing price of ₹141.80 on the BSE.

Adani Power shares opened 4.3% higher at ₹147.90 early today but soon gained momentum, driven by strong volumes. By 1:30 p.m., as many as 1.24 crore shares had changed hands compared to the two-week average of 15.11 lakh shares.

Last month, the board of Adani Power approved its first-ever stock split in the ratio of 1:5, which shareholders cleared on September 5 through electronic voting. The record date to determine the eligibility of shareholders to receive bonus equity shares was September 22.

In an exchange filing, Adani Power said that the stock split will “enhance the liquidity of the company's equity shares by encouraging participation of retail investors, as the split will make the shares more affordable to invest in.”

Last week, global rating agency Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Adani Power with an ‘overweight’ rating, noting that the company is poised to deliver strong earnings growth driven by timely completion of projects and more PPA wins in the medium term.

This comes after market regulator Sebi cleared Gautam Adani and his diversified conglomerate of the stock manipulation charges levelled by U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. Sebi dismissed allegations of regulatory violations by Adani Group in its dealings with Adicorp Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Milestone Tradelinks, and Rehvar Infrastructure, ruling that the transactions under scrutiny did not violate securities laws in force at the time.

The market regulator had initiated a probe after Hindenburg Research’s January 2023 report accused the conglomerate of using obscure intermediaries to route funds within the group, bypassing disclosure requirements. Sebi’s investigation covered the period from the financial year 2012–13 to 2020–21 in the Adicorp case and from FY19 to FY23 in the Milestone–Rehvar matter.

Earlier this month, Adani Power, India’s largest private-sector thermal power producer, signed a 25-year power supply agreement (PSA) with Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd. (BSPGCL) to supply 2,400 MW of electricity from a greenfield ultra-supercritical plant to be set up at Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district.

The agreement follows a Letter of Award (LoA) issued by BSPGCL in August on behalf of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd. (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd. (SBPDCL), according to the release.

The Adani Group company will invest about $3 billion to build the three-unit plant (800 MW each) and associated infrastructure under the design, build, finance, own, and operate (DBFOO) model. Coal linkage for the project has already been allocated under the SHAKTI policy of the Government of India.

Adani Power expects the project to generate 10,000–12,000 direct and indirect jobs during the construction phase and about 3,000 jobs once the plant becomes operational. The facility is targeted to be fully commissioned within 60 months.

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