Gautam Adani’s cooking oil dilemma

Declining profitability in edible oils and uncertainty about a promoter stake sale have turned into a perpetual problem for Adani Wilmar.

Gautam Adani’s edible oils joint venture is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Adani Wilmar’s financials have been struggling as the Ahmedabad-based company’s mainstay edible oils business—India’s largest—is going through a downturn. At the same time, there are mixed signals on what Adani wants to do with this business.

Over the past six months, there have been conflicting reports about Adani’s intention to exit the joint venture with Singapore’s Wilmar International. In December, the Adani group’s chief financial officer, Jugeshinder Singh, said the conglomerate was studying whether to keep or divest its 44% stake in Adani Wilmar. The …