Adani Ports' global biz sprints, but home is still where the money is

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s overseas ports business is growing much faster than its domestic operations, but India remains its biggest earnings generator, the company's September quarter earnings showed Wednesday.

International ports revenue rose 71% year-on-year to Rs 1,839 crore in Q2, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than tripled to Rs 878 crore. Domestic ports, meanwhile, generated nearly four times as much revenue and almost six times the EBITDA.

Adani Ports' shares were trading at Rs 17,57.95 apiece on the BSE, down, 0.33 per cent as of 1.23 PM on Wednesday.


Also Read: Adani Ports Q2 Results: Net profit jumps 17% YoY to Rs 3,622 crore; revenue up 24%

The contrast paints Adani Ports’ changing growth mix as its overseas portfolio is expanding rapidly, led by Australia and Sri Lanka, even as its established Indian ports continue to anchor the business.

The company's CEO Ashwani Gupta drew that distinction and said that domestic ports continued to anchor earnings while international ports, logistics and marine were emerging as growth engines.

“APSEZ’s ability to execute at scale with financial prudence enables us to pursue ambitious growth while leveraging balance-sheet strength and compounding cash flows. Against this backdrop, Q2FY27 was another stellar quarter. Domestic Ports continue to anchor our earnings, while International Ports, Logistics and Marine are emerging as powerful growth engines," he said.

Overseas ports grow faster

Revenue from international ports rose to Rs 1,839 crore in the September quarter from Rs 1,077 crore a year earlier. EBITDA jumped to Rs 878 crore from Rs 261 crore, while the segment’s EBITDA margin widened to 47.7% from 24.2%.

International ports handled 24 million metric tonnes of cargo during the quarter, compared with 9.7 million tonnes a year earlier. Australia contributed 10 million tonnes, while Colombo handled 8 million tonnes, double its year-ago volume. Tanzania’s cargo volumes rose to 4 million tonnes from 3 million tonnes, while Haifa in Israel handled 2 million tonnes, unchanged from a year earlier.

However, the sharp year-on-year increase needs a caveat. Australia’s North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) was not consolidated in the year-ago quarter, with consolidation beginning in the fourth quarter of FY26. The comparison is therefore based on both the addition of the Australian asset and growth at existing overseas operations, rather than purely organic expansion.

The trend was also visible in the June quarter, when international ports revenue rose 80% year-on-year to Rs 1,747 crore and EBITDA increased 256% to Rs 730 crore.

Domestic ports still do the heavy lifting

Despite the faster growth overseas, domestic ports remain the larger business by a wide margin. Domestic ports revenue rose 13% year-on-year to Rs 7,177 crore in the September quarter, while EBITDA increased 11% to Rs 5,201 crore. Its EBITDA margin stood at 72.5%, compared with 47.7% for international ports.

Also read: Adani Ports expands presence by incorporating subsidiary in Oman

For the first half of FY27, international ports revenue rose 75% year-on-year to Rs 3,586 crore, while EBITDA increased 245% to Rs 1,608 crore. Cargo volumes reached 47 million tonnes, against 17 million tonnes a year earlier. These comparisons, too, are affected by NQXT’s consolidation.

At the consolidated level, Adani Ports reported September-quarter revenue of Rs 11,340 crore, up 24% year-on-year, and EBITDA of Rs 6,807 crore, up 23%. Net profit increased 18% to Rs 3,682 crore.

Higher growth targets, bigger investment plan

Gupta said that on the strong H1 performance, Adani Ports is upgrading its FY27 guidance across revenue, EBITDA and capex.

Adani Ports raised its FY27 revenue guidance to Rs 44,000-46,000 crore from Rs 43,000-45,000 crore and its EBITDA guidance to Rs 26,000-27,000 crore from Rs 25,000-26,000 crore. It also raised its capital expenditure guidance to Rs 15,000-17,000 crore from Rs 12,000-14,000 crore.

"As we accelerate investments toward our Ambition 2031 objectives, our balance sheet remains exceptionally strong. We have deployed ₹30,346 Cr of capex over the past two years, including higher-than-planned investments in H1, while maintaining net debt-to-EBITDA at just 1.8x, underscoring the strength of our business model and capital discipline,” he said.