ADANI'S NEW JEWEL

ADANI WILMAR SURPRISED EVERYONE BY EMERGING AS INDIA’S SECOND-LARGEST FMCG COMPANY AFTER IT LISTED IN FEBRUARY. BUT WITH EDIBLE OIL FORMING THE BULK OF ITS REVENUE, WILL ITS PLANNED EXPANSION IN FOODS HELP IT DE-RISK ITS BUSINESS, AND ALSO BECOME NUMERO UNO IN ITS INDUSTRY?

- ARNAB DUTTA

Advantage Adani Wilmar

The company, after listing, seems to be making all the right moves to improve its bottom line

• After listing on the bourses in February, Adani Wilmar Ltd (AWL) has emerged as the third-largest FMCG firm, with a valuation of ₹45,000 crore
• In the first nine months of FY22, AWL, with more than ₹39,000 crore in revenues, is ahead of FMCG behemoth HUL (₹38,679 crore)
• With seamless links with sea ports, market leader AWL has a unique advantage over its rivals in the edible oil business, with costs set to come down further
• The edible oil business has thin margins; to circumvent that, AWL is aggressively expanding into the foods and personal care segment
• It is also expanding its edible oil business in West and South India. And it has forayed into Bangladesh and Singapore

EVER SINCE PRAMOD KUMAR took charge of operations at Adani Wilmar’s (AWL) newly built manufacturing facility at Hazira, Gujarat in 2019, he has never been happier. The 45-year-old engineer has been devoted to the company’s edible oil derivatives operations for well over a decade, but the fully-automated edible oil manufacturing plant on the outskirts of Surat gives him an immense sense of satisfaction. With a refining capacity of 2,500 tonnes a day, the plant is already one of the largest for the edible oil giant. But what keeps a seasoned professional like Kumar expectant is its future prospects.