Adani Ports Climbs Up to 5% as a Record 48% Overseas Margin Pushes It to Raise Every FY27 Target

Shares of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) were among the strongest large caps on Thursday, October 29. The stock rose as much as 4.6% to an intraday high of Rs 1,839.80, a day after the company posted September-quarter numbers and raised its guidance for the full year. It was the top gainer in the Sensex through the morning, and trading volumes were more than double the usual average.

The rally still leaves the stock below its record high of Rs 1,891.80, set on July 3.

What the quarter showed

For the July-September quarter (Q2 FY27), consolidated revenue rose 24% from a year earlier to Rs 11,340 crore. EBITDA rose 23% to about Rs 6,807 crore, and profit after tax came in at Rs 3,682 crore, up roughly 18%. The consolidated EBITDA margin slipped about half a percentage point to around 60%, which is the one soft spot in the headline numbers.

Total cargo volumes grew about 15% to 142 million tonnes. Almost all of that growth came from outside India. International volumes were up 2.4 times, while domestic volumes rose only about 3.5% to 118 million tonnes. Within India, the flagship Mundra port grew around 8%, and the rest of the domestic network was flat.

The overseas story is now the main story

The biggest change is in profitability abroad. EBITDA from international ports rose 3.4 times from a year earlier, and the margin on that business reached a record of about 48%. A year ago it was about 24%, and last quarter it was about 42%. Brokerages pointed to the Colombo terminal and the Australian coal terminal (NQXT), which APSEZ began consolidating from the fourth quarter of FY26.

The domestic business is still the profit engine, with a steady EBITDA margin of about 72.5%. But the overseas ports, the marine fleet (revenue up 57%) and logistics (up 21%) are now doing most of the growing. That shift matters because domestic volume growth has slowed to low single digits outside Mundra.

Guidance raised across the board

Management raised its FY27 revenue guidance by Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 44,000-46,000 crore and EBITDA guidance by the same amount to Rs 26,000-27,000 crore. Capital spending guidance went up by Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 15,000-17,000 crore. About Rs 10,500 crore of that had already been spent in the first half.

The company says the higher spending is tied to its 2031 goals of Rs 91,500 crore revenue and Rs 52,000 crore EBITDA, about 2.4 times and 2.3 times FY26 levels. It reported net debt at 1.8 times EBITDA and a cash balance of about Rs 12,500 crore, despite more than Rs 30,000 crore of capex over two years.

How brokerages reacted

Most brokerages stayed positive and nudged their targets up. Jefferies kept a Buy rating and raised its target to Rs 2,180 from Rs 2,160. JP Morgan raised its target to Rs 2,076 from Rs 2,000 and called the stock its preferred pick. Nuvama moved to Rs 2,170 from Rs 2,000. Macquarie kept an Outperform rating with a Rs 2,100 target, and Motilal Oswal kept Buy with Rs 2,130. JM Financial upgraded the stock to Buy with a target of Rs 2,065.

At the top of that range, the targets point to upside of roughly 18-20% from Thursday's levels. Several notes valued the stock at around 14 times estimated FY28 EV/EBITDA, which analysts called reasonable for the growth on offer.

What to watch

The bull case rests on overseas assets continuing to deliver high margins, and on the extra capex earning its keep. Management is studying about 20 possible overseas acquisitions, and analysts said it has stressed they must be brownfield assets that meet group return thresholds. Any large deal, or a slowdown in domestic cargo beyond Mundra, would test the higher guidance. For now, the market has rewarded a company that raised every target it sets for itself.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.