Strong APSEZ Q1 result, Adani’s transition to non-executive director gets analyst backing

New Delhi: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s (APSEZ) robust first quarter revenue growth and margin improvement across major business verticals won the backing of leading brokerages, who saw the company as a long-term proxy for India’s trade and infrastructure growth.

Leading brokerages, including Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Kotak, and Jefferies, have issued a unanimous ‘BUY’ rating on APSEZ, as a positive sentiment followed a robust first-quarter performance.

The company also announced that Gautam Adani will cease to be a Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) and will now serve as the non-executive chairman, transitioning from his earlier role as Executive Chairman. In a note, Jefferies said Q1 EBITDA was 14 per cent above its estimates, led by domestic ports margin improvement and 2.0-2.9 times year-on-year revenue rise in logistics and marine.

“Management reiterated its focus on absolute EBITDA growth, as the company intends to deliver end-to-end solutions vs pure volume growth,” it said, adding FY26 volume guidance at 505-515 million tonnes (12-14 per cent rise yoy) was maintained.

HSBC Global Investment Research said the company delivered robust Q1 revenue growth and margin improvements across major business verticals. “Strong ramp-up of new assets, turnaround in international port and logistics margins underscore intact earnings trajectory.”

Port throughput grew 11 per cent to 121 million tonnes, backed by 6 per cent growth in domestic and a 4 times jump in international. New asset additions (Vizhinjam and Gopalpur) offset weakness in Mundra, which saw a 6 per cent throughput decline due to geopolitical restrictions and embargoes, and softer coal handling due to lower thermal energy demand.

“We lift FY26-28 EBITDA (estimate) by 2 per cent, reflecting better-than-expected margin improvement,” it said, adding Vizhinjam and Colombo terminals should strengthen its capacity and pricing power.

Goldman Sachs said while tariff-related uncertainty will remain, APSEZ’s strong portfolio of port assets leverages it for market share gains (as ports of Vizinjham, Colombo and Tanzania ramp up in FY26 and Gangavaram regains its volumes), resulting in 12.5 per cent volume growth.

Kotak Institutional Equities said APSEZ grew its EBITDA 30 per cent year-on-year, while facing head-on specific issues on imported coal and the transhipment business. “The port business continues to expand margins. It continues to add brownfield capacities judiciously and make its presence felt in new markets.”