Adani Infra cashes in on group capex spree, buys ₹11,561 crore in shares

A promoter-owned company handling the Adani Group's infrastructure projects has turned into its biggest cash generator, and it is now using that money to buy into listed group companies.

Adani Infra (India) Ltd made ₹7,127 crore in profit in FY26, more than double the previous year and 80 times its FY24 earnings, according to filings from July 24. Revenue hit ₹11,301 crore, up 13-fold in two years. The company generated free cash flow of ₹6,666 crore, more than any other Adani entity, because its own capital spending is low.

The surge came after the group designated Adani Infra as its project management consultant and engineering, procurement, and construction arm at the start of FY25. Earlier, each group firm handled its own project management and hired outside EPC contractors. Now Adani Infra takes a cut of the group's ₹1.53 trillion in FY26 capital expenditure.

About 95% of its revenue, or ₹10,738 crore, came from group companies. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd contributed ₹1,873 crore, Adani Enterprises Ltd ₹1,497 crore, and Adani Power Ltd ₹1,382 crore. Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Green Energy added ₹952 crore and ₹281 crore.

The ₹7,127-crore profit makes Adani Infra the third most profitable company in the conglomerate, behind Adani Ports (₹12,782 crore) and Adani Power (₹12,971 crore).

Since the start of 2026, Adani Infra has been deploying its income to buy shares in listed Adani firms. It bought 0.70% of Adani Enterprises for ₹1,583 crore in the March quarter, then 1.53% of Adani Energy Solutions for ₹1,725 crore on March 23-25. In FY27, it spent ₹5,626 crore on 2.34% of Adani Green Energy between June 9 and August 3, and ₹2,627 crore on 0.65% of Adani Power on August 4.

That totals ₹11,561 crore over seven months. The purchases were funded by loan repayments from related parties and operating profit.

The Adani Enterprises and Adani Energy Solutions shares came from the open market, boosting promoter stakes. The Adani Green Energy and Adani Power shares were bought from Ardour Investment Holding Ltd, a UAE-based promoter group entity, so overall promoter ownership in those two companies did not change.

An Adani Group spokesperson said Adani Infra was set up as a centre of excellence for project management. The structure was approved by lenders from the start, he said, and contracts are awarded at arm's length. Minority shareholder approval was secured for all contracts worth more than ₹1,000 crore.

Consolidating project management has created value, the spokesperson said. Adani Power's 23.7-gigawatt capacity expansion by FY32, requiring ₹2 trillion in investment, works out to about ₹8.5 crore per megawatt against an industry standard of ₹10-12 crore, a cost differential of upwards of ₹50,000 crore.

Corporate governance experts are divided. Sanjay Kallapur, accounting professor at the Indian School of Business, said a centralised procurement and project management arm offers commercial advantages – economies of scale, streamlined vendor coordination, faster execution. He noted that proxy advisory firms scrutinize related-party transactions and issue voting recommendations.

Sharmila Gopinath, an independent governance consultant, said the arrangement raises ethical concerns even if it is legally sound. "This is highly unorthodox. It's not great optics. That's a lot of money to be paid to a promoter entity by a listed company," she said.

The Adani Infra is 100% controlled by the S.B. Adani Family Trust and other group companies, according to India Ratings.

Adani Infra (India) Ltd has an Alpha Score of 57/100, rated Moderate, in the technology sector. View the INFY stock page.