Explained: How the Adani group gained from the coal crisis

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Editor's note: Gautam Adani, the world’s fourth-richest person, has had a lot going for him lately. His group’s flagship firm, Adani Enterprises, is on an upward trajectory. The company’s stock recently touched a record high of Rs 3,258.05, from trading at around Rs 500 in January 2021. It reported a 222% year-on-year surge in consolidated revenue in the April-June quarter. This was coupled with a 76.5% year-on-year increase in profit after tax, to almost Rs 469 crore. The strong performance can be attributed to two of the firm’s businesses doing well. While its airport business contributed 2.9% of its gross revenue from operations, the integrated resource management segment, or IRM—which is essentially Adani’s coal trading business—accounted for 74.7%. The numbers for the IRM segment stand out. The business reported revenue growth of 246% year-on-year in the April-June quarter. The segment also saw an over 50% increase in volumes, to almost 27 million tonnes, in the same quarter. This came on the back of a surge in coal prices globally, triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Given its striking performance, it’s important to …