New Delhi: Gautam Adani’s name is currently the most talked about. Like last year, not in terms of highest earnings, but in terms of highest loss of assets in a month. The Hindenburg report of the American short sellers company was published on 24 January 2023 and from the very next day the shares of Adani companies came in such a tsunami that the Adani Group market cap fell by more than 12 lakh crores. Meanwhile, shares of every group company tumbled badly, but Adani Ports shares were the least affected.
Fortune shined with plastic business
Adani Ports has been the top earner among all Adani Group companies. In other words, the credit for the expansion of the Adani empire in the 90s also goes to Adani Ports. Gautam Adani, a 60-year-old businessman going through a rough patch, is the first generation businessman in his family. Dropping out midway, he entered the business world to provide financial support to the family. He first tried his hand in the diamond business in 1978, but from the year 1981, he entered his elder brother’s plastics business. After this, Adani Enterprises Limited came into existence in 1988.
Thus began the journey to becoming the King of Port
After this, in 1991, in the government of Prime Minister Narsingh Rao, when Finance Minister Manmohan Singh initiated economic reforms. Liberalization had begun and the Chimanbhai Patel government of Gujarat had started allotting ports to private companies to facilitate business. At that time, the government had prepared a list of 10 ports to be put into private hands, one of which was Mundra port. In 1995, Gautam Adani’s company Adani Ports got the contract to operate the Mundra port spread over 8000 hectares.
The land of Mundra used to get submerged in the tides
The opposition has continuously besieged the government over Mundra port land. It is said that the land was acquired by Adani Ports at a price of one rupee per square foot. In an interview last year in 2022, Gautam Adani had said about this that he had found the land of the wasteland, which was very less at that time. According to Adani, it was actually land, it was submerged in water at high tide. He said that 3-4 feet were required to level the land and the cost was more than its original cost.
Mundra Port is the largest port in the country
It took Adani Ports about 10 years to fix the land and land a profitable deal for Mundra. Currently, Adani Group’s Mundra Port is the largest private port in India today. Adani Ports is present in 13 domestic ports in seven maritime states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha. Around 100 million tonnes of goods are landed at Mundra port annually. The advanced and sophisticated technology here is different from other ports. It is the best port in the country and handles about one-fourth of the goods movement across India.
How to reach Mundra port?
Mundra Port is the largest port in the country and has been built under a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which means that its promoter company does not have to pay any taxes. Gautam Adani’s son Karan Adani Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd. is the CEO of It also has a power plant, a private railway line and a private airport. Mundra Port is also known for having the largest coal unloading capacity in the world. In the early days, Gautam Adani was losing 10 to 12 crores per year due to the time taken in loading-unloading at Mundra port. To reduce this time, he encouraged the use of technology and today 70 percent of the trade in Middle East Asia, West Asia and Africa is operated from this port based on advanced technologies.
Like any port, Mundra ports also earn through loading-unloading, stores and delivery of cargo, crude, chemical and other goods. Mundra Port has more than 24 warehouses and more than 97 tanks and pipelines for storing crude-chemicals, equipped with latest technologies and best among other ports in terms of safety. Cargo charges a fixed fee at every stage of the service, which makes it big money.
Revenue grew 18% even in bad times
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ), the country’s largest integrated logistics company, posted a profit of Rs 1,315 crore in the December quarter of the current fiscal, down 13 percent from the same period last year. The company’s net profit was Rs 1567 crore in the December quarter a year ago. In the quarter, the company’s revenue grew 18 percent year-over-year. Shares of Adani Ports also fell badly after the Hindenburg report, but the rate of decline was less than that of other companies. Overall, the stock slipped 30 percent and is now looking steady.
Hindenburg’s least impact on Adani port
When looking at Adani Bandar’s latest move, Hindenburg’s research report published on January 24, the share price was Rs. 761.20 and after 25 January 2023, it will be Rs. It touched a low of 462.45. On February 2, the stock hit this low. It continued to decline throughout the month, but was less than Adani’s other shares. Talking about other stocks, Adani Green broke around 85 percent.