Majority of the stocks of the Adani group of companies have ended 2023 with losses ranging from 8-73 per cent, indicating that the key companies in the group have not been able to recapture the former highs seen in 2022, prior to Hindenburg Research’s damaging allegations of fraud and stock price manipulation.

The losses have come despite the selective foreign portfolio investors and strategic investors picking up significant stakes in group companies during the year and injecting much-needed funds at opportune moments.

The worst performer in the Adani pack was and is Adani Total Gas, whose stock has depreciated around 73 percent during the year. The company is a joint venture with French TotalEnergies that holds a minority stake of just over 37 per cent.

The second worst performer is Adani Energy Solutions – formerly called Adani Transmission – and its stock price fell over 59 per cent in the year under review.

Group flagship and incubator of businesses in the Adani fold, Adani Enterprises saw about a quarter of its value being shaved off during the year.

Adani Green Energy, a key company in the group as it is spearheading Adani’s ambitions in the green energy segment, was also down about 17 per cent in the year. Other losers have been edible oils maker Adani Wilmar (down over 40 per cent), New Delhi Television (down over a fifth) and cement manufacturer ACC that was down about eight per cent.

Though Adani Enterprises, Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy have seen targeted stake acquisitions during the year and have been particularly busy with strategic announcements about fund raising and joint ventures, it has not stopped the stocks being under pressure.

A market analyst said that the damage done as a result of the short seller Hindenburg Research’s report had never been fully undone. The carnage that followed the report wiped out $150 billion (around ₹12.5 trillion) in market capitalization of the group.

In November, the stocks of the group saw a sharp rally bringing its market cap to close at ₹15 trillion, but evidently, that has not been enough to recoup previous valuations.

Group founder and chairman Gautam Adani has also pulled out all stops to stem the slide and inject confidence by selling small stakes in group companies to raise cash to pay down debt while he has also bought back the stakes subsequently – both confidence-building measures among the investor community.

The cloud hanging over the group has not dissipated as the Securities and Exchange Board of India has still to complete and submit its investigation into the allegations made against the group.

In the midst of the depressing scenario two stocks in the pack that stand out are Adani Power that rose about 76 per cent in the year and Adani Ports, a major revenue earner for the group, that has risen about 27 per cent on year.

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