Rating agency Crisil, in its latest credit bulletin released on Friday, maintained its strong credit ratings for Adani Group companies. "Despite recent legal developments, including a US indictment followed by materially false and misleading coverage, the agency has maintained a positive outlook on the group's companies and entities. Adani Group has sufficient liquidity and operational cash flows to meet its debt obligations and committed capex plans over the medium term," the bulletin stated.
"These ratings are driven largely by the strength of their business and financial risk profiles. They, among other factors, consider the steadiness of cash flows, the infrastructure nature of assets with long concession periods, and the extent of cash flow cushions," the CRISIL report also said while noting that it rated 28 group entities.
For the fiscal year 2024, Crisil cited that the Adani Group reported a healthy EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of around Rs 82,917 crore, with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 2.19 times.
While acknowledging the potential impact of the ongoing legal proceedings, the rating agency said it will continue to closely monitor the situation and any potential regulatory, judicial, or governmental actions that may affect the group's financial position and operations.
Meanwhile, Adani stocks continued their upward move today with Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) rallying by up to 25.82 per cent. The fresh strength in Adani counters came as big investors kept their faith in the group after its clarification on the alleged US bribery case.
The Indian conglomerate claimed that there were no bribery charges against Gautam Adani and other group executives. It also said that its portfolio companies have sufficient liquidity to cover all debt servicing requirements for at least the next 12 months.
Last week, US authorities accused Adani, his nephew and executive director Sagar Adani and managing director of AGEL, Vneet S Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading US investors.
The Adani Group has denied the accusations in the US indictment as baseless and said it will seek all legal recourse.
The fresh charges follow much turmoil for the Adani Group in January last year when US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused it of using offshore tax havens improperly - a charge that the Indian conglomerate has denied.