A day after the Financial Times reported that the Adani Group had imported and sold low-quality coal at a higher price in 2013, Cantor Fitzgerald has claimed that the report was just "noise" from a long time ago. The market also shrugged off the report as shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd. closed higher, it said.
The financial services firm reached out to Adani Group, who explained the process of procuring and selling the coal to the state-owned entities in a note on Thursday.
The FT report had alleged that the conglomerate bought low-quality coal and then sold it to state-owned entities at the price of high-grade coal. However, Adani highlighted that if the company had supplied coal that had a gross calorific value between 5,800 and 6,700, then it would face a penalty. The said penalty would be taken from the pre-determined payment amount, the brokerage said in the note.
In addition, the quality of the coal supplied was to be tested by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp., the buyer. This indicates the report by Financial Times has no base, else it would have impacted payment, it said.
The Financial Times also based its report on the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence reports, which, according to the company, during the 2012–24 period accused all coal importers of mis-declaring the quality of coal to save on customs. This alone raises questions, as the report argues against what the customs were saying, as Adani told Cantor Fitzgerald.
Shares of Adani Enterprises rose 8.19% to Rs 3,398.20 per share, as compared with a 1.64% jump in the Nifty 50.
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