Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (ADSEZ)

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited ("APSEZ") has a strong standalone business base as India's largest private port and integrated logistics platform. In FY26, the company reported consolidated revenue of Rs38,736 crore, EBITDA of Rs22,851 crore, PAT of Rs12,782 crore, and cargo volume of 500.8 MMT. APSEZ became the first integrated transport operator in India to handle more than 500 MMT of port cargo in a year. The core supports for APSEZ's credit quality are its port network across India's west, east, and south coasts, deepwater and large-scale port capacity centered on Mundra, its roughly 27% share of all-India cargo volume, container market share in the mid-45% range, and a "shore-to-door" model linking ports with rail, warehouses, trucks, and marine services.

The credit conclusion is that APSEZ should be positioned as an infrastructure credit with a strong business franchise and investment-grade financial management, but with the ceiling set by Adani Group-related governance and capital-market-access risk. At FY26 year-end, gross debt was Rs55,103 crore, cash balance was Rs12,193 crore, net debt/EBITDA was 1.9x, below the company's 2.5x ceiling policy. Average debt maturity also extended from 4.3 years at end-March 2025 to 5.4 years at end-March 2026. Including U.S. dollar bond buybacks in August 2025 and March 2026, debt management has been quite active.

At the same time, APSEZ should not be viewed as a purely defensive infrastructure bond without qualification. First, the port business is not a monopolistic regulated utility; it is affected by India's trade volumes, coal, iron ore, crude oil and container demand, geopolitics, and the shipping cycle. Second, acquisitions and overseas expansion such as NQXT Australia, Haifa, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, and Astro Offshore add diversification and growth, but also increase complexity in integration, politics/regulation, foreign exchange, and capital allocation. Third, past Hindenburg-related issues involving the Adani Group, the November 2024 U.S. indictment related to Adani Green Energy, and group-wide market-confidence risk can affect bond investors through foreign-currency bond spreads, rating outlooks, and access to bank and bond markets even if APSEZ's operating cash flow is not immediately affected.