THE AFTERSHOCKS

Star performers in last year's BT500 study, most Adani Group firms have seen their rankings dip in the latest edition. While it is business as usual for the group, most market watchers expect its bumpy ride to continue

- ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

ADANI ENTERPRISES LTD (AEL), the flagship company of the diversified Adani Group whose interests span airports, ports, energy, and data centres to FMCG, will complete 30 years of being listed in November 2024. It is the oldest pureblood Adani Group firm on the bourses—excluding the much-older ACC and Ambuja Cements that the conglomerate acquired in September last year— and was listed a couple of years after Business Today began its annual BT500 study in 1992.

While AEL and the other listed firms of the Adani Group—Adani Green Energy, Adani Total Gas, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Power, Adani Wilmar and the acquired cement entities, Ambuja Cements and ACC—have had their share of ups and downs on the bourses, the past one year has been one of the most tumultuous.

The latest edition of the BT500 list—based on the average market capitalisation (m-cap) for the 12-month period between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023— shows that barring AEL, Adani Power and Ambuja Cements, all other group firms have seen their rankings dip when compared with last year. Let us start with those that have improved their ranks. AEL has jumped to No. 14 from No. 24, Adani Power from No. 58 to No. 51, and Ambuja Cements from No. 67 to No. 61. Meanwhile, ACC slipped to No. 142 from No. 114, while Adani Wilmar dropped to No. 82 from No. 62. The rest of the Adani Group firms also didn’t fare any better and the combined average m-cap of the group’s nine firms which are part of the BT500 shrank by nearly ₹1.65 lakh crore or 11 per cent when compared to last year’s study.