Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
Adani Ports and SEZ
The Ahmedabad port operator, controlled by Gautam Adani's family, that grew from a single captive jetty at Mundra on the Gulf of Kutch in 1998 into India's largest private port company — 500.8 million tonnes (MMT) of cargo in FY2026 (year to 31 March 2026, +11%), ~19 ports and terminals (15 in India and 4 abroad, reported) and a logistics, rail, warehousing and marine-services arm — and the first private port operator anywhere to report more than 500 MMT in a year (company claim). Its supply-chain story is a conglomerate's port network under governance risk: it built density on India's west coast and bought its way to coverage on the east coast, then went abroad to Haifa (Israel, 2023), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania, 2024) and Queensland (Australia, NQXT, 2025), while the group's cost of capital was hit by the Hindenburg short report (24 Jan 2023) and by the US indictment of Gautam Adani and others in November 2024 — a case that concerned Adani Green Energy, not the ports company, but that led APSEZ to drop a ~$553m US government (DFC) loan for its Colombo terminal. For US shippers the company matters as the operator of the gateways through which much of India's container trade with the US — including the electronics, apparel and auto parts of the China+1 shift — leaves the country.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1998, as Gujarat Adani Port Ltd, to develop Mundra port in Kutch, Gujarat (company history, reported; first commercial operations Oct 1998, verify); renamed Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (2006) and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (2012) (reported, verify dates)
- Headquarters
- Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
- Ownership / structure
- Listed on the NSE and BSE (IPO late 2007, reported, verify); the Adani family's promoter entities hold a majority (~65%, reported, verify); GQG Partners (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) among the largest outside holders after its 2 Mar 2023 purchase across four Adani companies (reported); dollar bonds held by US and other international investors (Rule 144A/Reg S, reported)
- Leadership (2026)
- Gautam Adani, chairman; Karan Adani, managing director (from Jan 2024, reported, verify); Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director and CEO (from Jan 2024, reported, verify)
- Segments
- Domestic ports; international ports (Haifa, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, NQXT); logistics (rail, inland container depots, warehousing, trucking); marine services (tugs, dredgers, offshore vessels — 138 vessels in Q2 FY2027, reported); special economic zones and port-led industrial land
- Scale
- Cargo 500.8 MMT FY2026 (+11% from 450.2 MMT), containers +19% (company, 30 Apr 2026, reported); revenue ₹38,736 crore (~$4.4bn at ~₹88/$, verify rate) FY2026 (+25%); EBITDA ₹22,851 crore (+20%, investor presentation filed with NSE; one outlet reported ₹18,849 crore — use the filing figure); profit after tax ₹12,782 crore (+16%). Q2 FY2027 (Jul–Sep 2026): revenue ₹11,340 crore (+24%), EBITDA ₹6,807 crore (+23%), PAT ₹3,682 crore (+18%; some outlets ~₹3,622–3,630 crore); H1 FY2027 cargo ~280 MMT (+15%) (company, 28 Oct 2026, reported)
- Network
- 15 Indian ports and terminals in seven coastal states — Mundra, Tuna and Hazira (Gujarat), Dighi (Maharashtra), Mormugao (Goa), Vizhinjam (Kerala), Kattupalli and Ennore (Tamil Nadu), Karaikal (Puducherry), Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram (Andhra Pradesh), Dhamra and Gopalpur (Odisha), Haldia (West Bengal) and others (reported, verify current list); domestic capacity ~633–671 MTPA (sources differ); international: Haifa (Israel, 70%), Colombo West International Terminal (Sri Lanka, 51%), Container Terminal 2 at Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), NQXT (Queensland, Australia, 100%)
- Guidance
- FY2027 revenue ₹44,000–46,000 crore, EBITDA ₹26,000–27,000 crore, capex ₹15,000–17,000 crore (raised 28 Oct 2026, company, reported); 1bn tonnes a year by 2030 (company target)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Mundra port and SEZ (1998–); domestic consolidation from Dhamra (2014) to Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram and Gopalpur (2020–24); the Yangon terminal and Myanmar exit (2019–23, failure); Haifa (2022–23); the Hindenburg report and the ports business (2023, failure); Colombo West terminal and the dropped DFC loan (2023–25); Dar es Salaam CT2 (2024); the US indictment and the ports business (2024–26, failure, later resolved); NQXT Australia related-party purchase (2025)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1998
Mundra Port and SEZ Founding
Founding / network build (port, rail link and special economic zone)
2014
Dhamra and the Domestic Consolidation
Acquisition or merger — a roll-up of Indian private ports on both coasts
2019
Yangon Terminal and the Myanmar Exit
Network build (first overseas terminal) followed by divestment — failure
2023
Haifa Port Acquisition
Acquisition (privatisation of a state-owned port company)
2023
Hindenburg Report and the Ports Business
Financing / governance crisis (short-seller attack on the group) — failure for shareholders, then partial recovery
2024
Colombo West Terminal and the DFC Loan
Network build (greenfield deep-water container terminal) and financing — US government loan offered, then withdrawn
2024
Dar es Salaam Container Terminal
Network build (terminal concession) — first East African port
2024
US Indictment and the Ports Business
Regulatory, customs or legal action — a US criminal and civil case against the group's chairman and others concerning a sister company; failure for APSEZ's cost of capital, later resolved without trial
2025
NQXT Australia Related Party Acquisition
Acquisition (related party, share-for-share)