New Delhi, 29 Nov

Backing embattled Adani Group, rating agency CRISIL Ratings on Friday said the conglomerate has sufficient liquidity and operational cash flows to meet debt obligations and committed capex and that there has been no negative actions so far by lenders and investors following the US indictment of group founder chairman.

The Adani Group, which has the flexibility to reduce certain discretionary capital expenditure (capex) depending on developments in financial markets and future capital availability, has a healthy Ebitda ( earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) and cash balance that reduces its dependence on external debt to sustain operations, it said in a bulletin.

On 20 November, 2024, the United States Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an indictment and a civil complaint, respectively, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, key functionaries of Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL).

The charges relate to allegations of securities fraud, wire fraud and violation of the SEC guidelines that led to materially false and misleading statements in the bond offering documents of AGEL with respect to anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.

"CRISIL Ratings has taken note of these developments and their likely impact on the financial flexibility of the group, including the fall in the market capitalisation of the listed companies of the group, movement in bond yields, and calling off the USD 600 million bond offering of AGEL," the rating agency said.

"The Adani Group reported a healthy Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of Rs 82,917 crore for fiscal 2024 with a net debt-to-Ebitda ratio of 2.19 times.

"Cash balance was over Rs 53,000 crore across 8 listed operating entities as of September 2024 against long-term debt maturities of Rs 27,500 crore; and go-to market/construction facility of Rs 8,919 crore during October-March fiscal 2025 and Rs 2,137 crore during fiscal 2026," Crisil said. —PTI/ANI