THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The flagship of the Adani Group, Adani Ports & SEZ, is transforming into a transport utility player, with a presence in every aspect of the business and not limited to the traditional ports segment, said managing director Karan Adani.
“We don’t want to be limited to just being a port player. Our focus is on the entire logistics chain for importers and exporters. This includes port logistics, rail, warehousing, trucking, marine services – all of it. The goal is to evolve into a transport utility that can forecast cargo flows not just for the next five years, but for the next 10, 15, or even 20 years,” Karan (38) told TOI. He, however, added that there are no plans right now to change the name of the company to match the changing business profile.
When asked how the revenue will comprise tracking the transformation, he said, “Ports are still the core of our business and will stay that way for the next five years. Beyond that-say in 10 years-logistics could potentially become larger as we scale. Ports were around for 25 years, but logistics is rapidly catching up.”
Karan, the older son of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani, started his career with the flagship, learning the intricacies of port operations at Mundra. He became managing director of the company in Jan 2024. In the first full financial year since he took over, the company made a profit of Rs 11,061 crore on Rs 30,475 crore revenue in FY25, up 37% and 14% from FY24. Karan believes the transformation will be led naturally as well as through acquisitions.
“There are opportunities across all verticals. For example, in marine services, we had our own captive operations but acquired Ocean Sparkle to expand. Similarly, in logistics, we are open to growth from both organic and inorganic sources. If a distressed or strategic asset comes up, we’re open to evaluating it at the right value.” Since going public in 2007, Adani Ports bought more than a dozen assets in India and abroad.