Adani Ports Q2 FY27 Earnings Call: Raises Revenue Guidance To Rs. 46,000 Cr, Colombo Drives Record 47.7% International Margin (ADANIPORTS)

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd held its Q2 FY27 earnings call on October 28, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Broad-Based Growth Across All Four Engines

• Revenue up 24% YoY to Rs.11,340 crore — Q2 FY 2026-2027 consolidated revenue, with EBITDA up 23% YoY to Rs.6,807 crore; growth was broad-based across domestic ports, international ports, logistics, and marine.
• Domestic ports revenue up 13% YoY — with an industry-leading EBITDA margin of 72.5% in Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• International ports delivered a best-ever quarter — revenue up 71% YoY to Rs.1,839 crore; EBITDA more than tripled to Rs.878 crore with margin expanding to 47.7% from 24.2% in Q2 FY26.
• Logistics revenue up 21% YoY — truck revenue up 28% YoY and integrated freight network revenue more than doubled YoY; container volumes rebounded 15% sequentially in Q2 FY 2026-2027 after a temporary Q1 FY27 slowdown from West Asia crisis disruptions.
• Marine revenue up 57% YoY, EBITDA up 32% YoY — supported by fleet additions, new geographies, and entry into subsea solutions; fleet stands at 138 vessels as of Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• Capital discipline maintained — over Rs.30,000 crore of capex deployed over the past two years while holding net debt/EBITDA at 1.8x.

FY27 Guidance Raised; India-Focused Capex Acceleration

• FY 2026-2027 guidance raised by Rs.1,000 crore each — revenue guidance now Rs.44,000–46,000 crore and EBITDA guidance Rs.26,000–27,000 crore; FY27 capex guidance raised by Rs.3,000 crore.
• Margin guidance framed as hypothesis-based — Q2 FY 2026-2027 EBITDA margin was back at ~60% versus FY27 full-year guidance implying ~58–58.5%; CEO Ashwani Gupta cautioned against backing into 58.2–58.3%, committing instead to strict cost-per-ton discipline, with the outcome to be judged at Q3/Q4 FY 2026-2027.
• Capex increase is India-focused — the raised FY 2026-2027 capex guidance excludes any international capex (even organic), accelerating projects at Mundra, Dhamra, Hazira and Vizhinjam; Mundra ran at ~90–92% average utilization in Q1–Q2 FY 2026-2027, with some terminals above 100%.
• 1 billion MT domestic capacity target — management indicated that if the current way of working continues, the 1 billion-tonne capacity may be finished a little before 2031; the CEO declined to say whether FY31 targets can be achieved ahead of the stated timeline.
• 20+ international acquisition targets under evaluation — screened against four criteria: contribution to APSEZ top-line and bottom-line growth at or above APSEZ's average, geopolitics and macroeconomics, funding/financing in that market, and leadership team/partner; the pipeline is primarily in developed markets, with similar feasibility studies underway for UK, Europe and US (the newly incorporated Oman subsidiary is purely part of feasibility studies — nothing decided).
• India acquisition playbook — management said it can scale an acquired asset's EBITDA to 3X within 2–2.5 years, as demonstrated at Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram and now Karaikal; Associated British Ports was evaluated but "did not fit in our playground of the return on the capital."

Colombo Ramp-Up Powers Record International Margin

• International EBITDA margin at a record 47.7% — up from 41–42% in the two quarters prior to Q2 FY 2026-2027; CEO Ashwani Gupta attributed the improvement primarily to Colombo (CWIT) and Australia.
• CWIT handled 2 million TEUs within 18 months — volumes running well ahead of expectations while revenue is in line; terminal capacity being doubled from 1.6 to 3.2 million TEUs (period unspecified) to strengthen Colombo's position as a transshipment hub on the east-west trade corridor.
• Margin sustainability — management expects the CWIT-driven margin to sustain and potentially increase as the terminal moves to 3.2 million TEUs (period unspecified); CFO Krishna Menon flagged further upside once CWIT Phase 2 is commissioned (timeline unspecified), as Phase 2 comes at a higher margin.
• Entity-level outlook — Australia's EBITDA margin expected to remain constant ±1–2% (period unspecified); Haifa (Israel) not expected to improve or deteriorate further given the war/disturbance situation; Tanzania delivered its highest-ever container volume in Q2 FY 2026-2027 but may see volume variance while the 100-meter berth extension is built (completion period unspecified).
• Management declined to normalize international margins — asking for two more quarters (through Q4 FY 2026-2027) and stating it will not generalize the four geographies (Australia, Haifa Israel, Colombo, Tanzania) into a single EBITDA margin.
• Vizhinjam Phase 2 reaffirmed for December 2028 — despite the terminal operating at full capacity; the Vizhinjam stake sale process is "going on very well" and will be completed within the timeline communicated at the investor relations meet (no specific date given on the call).
• INR depreciation — CFO Krishna Menon said it has had a positive impact on overall revenue composition, but no quantified impact was disclosed for Q2 FY 2026-2027.

H1 Disruption Framed as One-Off; Recovery Underway

• Q1 FY 2026-2027 container disruption — the company stored containers 28 km from Mundra port across a 100-acre yard on manual operations to support the industry, hitting productivity; congestion was seen at all Indian ports and abroad in April–June.
• Recovery in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — after cleanup from July, container volumes exceeded 800,000 in August, with October (Q3 FY 2026-2027) tracking close to that; market share was gained significantly in liquids.
• Domestic market share ~27% for nearly 2.5 years — management is "very much confident" share will increase in Q3–Q4 FY 2026-2027; as of 28 October, domestic volumes are already growing at double digits.
• STS distortion in the denominator — CEO Ashwani Gupta said all-India cargo data includes temporary ship-to-ship transfers at anchorage caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure; excluding those one-off STS volumes, APSEZ's market share is "very good."
• Dry cargo headwinds — iron ore exports at Dhamra were impacted by a structural decline after iron ore exports were banned following a vessel incident; coking coal is growing on customer contracts and rising steel consumption; in coastal coal, APSEZ gains higher share at loading ports than at discharge ports (e.g., Karaikal), a structural issue being addressed via a rail-sea-rail (RSR) strategy.
• Mundra empty yard dispute resolved — root cause was 900+ acres of empty yards "mushrooming" outside the port; a 120-acre empty yard inside the port premises is already full as of Q2 FY 2026-2027, with an additional 200 acres planned (period unspecified) and an integrated warehouse for devanning planned at Mundra.
• Mundra power plant tailwind — with Section 11 extended till December 2026, both plants at Mundra ran at peak in Q2 FY 2026-2027 and are expected to do the same in Q3 and Q4 FY 2026-2027; CFO Krishna Menon noted CGPL (the Tata Power plant) was shut down in Q3/Q4 of FY 2025-2026, so the remaining two quarters of FY 2026-2027 have like-for-like volume upside.

Asset-Light Momentum; Hormuz Drag on Marine Margins

• Logistics traction called "very much sustainable" — CEO Ashwani Gupta said it will improve, driven by a fully integrated multimodal strategy plus cargo from neighboring ICDs; across 12 ICDs, Virochand Nagar and Mallur have moved past ramp-up while Patli and Tumb are growing; logistics remains a pillar of Ambition 2030 (launched two years prior).
• Trucking and IFN cited as contributing more than half — of overall logistics segment contribution (as referenced in the analyst's question); the CEO said performance is in line with plan and margins are better than competitors', with IFN margins not to be compared with Mundra Port margins.
• IFN margin durability — margins should hold around current levels because of the zero capex structure (only manpower cost, no machines or fuel), so margins "will always remain similar"; IFN also brings incremental volumes to company ports and ICDs.
• Marine margin fell sequentially in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — due to the Strait of Hormuz closure: 7–8 vessels were on standby despite secured contracts (e.g., Mozambique) because they could not cross the strait, while war insurance and fixed costs were paid cost-to-cost; impact was concentrated in July–August, with margins recovering from September.
• New logistics businesses ramping — EXIM yards launched earlier in FY 2026-2027 are coming to peak; the empty yard business started in September (Q2 FY 2026-2027); warehouse integration with the empty yard is expected soon — all adding incremental revenue and EBITDA in H2 FY 2026-2027.

Robust H2 FY27, But Open Items Remain

• H2 FY 2026-2027 outlook characterized as robust — underpinned by diversified growth engines, industry-leading margins, and a strong balance sheet; FY27 EBITDA guidance was built bottom-up with more than 50% of the year already complete.
• High visibility on three ports driving H2 FY 2026-2027 — CT5 (volume, revenue and cost already secured, operations starting within weeks), Colombo (started 1 October, Q3 FY 2026-2027, with management signing contracts with shipping lines) and Vizhinjam.
• Coastal coal called the key success factor — for the next two quarters (Q3–Q4 FY 2026-2027) and the years to come; management emphasized the company has both loading and discharge ports, with a specific focus on capturing coastal coal growth.
• Vadhavan Port HAM bid — management said it is too early to call the winner; the bid out covers reclamation and nearshore development with no visibility on the announcement date; the only known milestone is a targeted start of the first phase in 2028 or 2029, and no clarity was offered on revenue recognition if the project is won.
• Transshipment mix to revert — Mundra's transshipment share has "little bit dropped down" from elevated levels (analyst cited 22–23%) as JNPT gained share; management deliberately prioritized higher-realization EXIM cargo and expects the mix to revert to the normal 20–22% after CT5 commences (period unspecified).
• GMB concession agreement — process is "going on very well"; a comfort letter has already been issued to Pipavav, with an update expected "very soon" (no specific timeline given) and Pipavav currently ahead in the process.
• SEZ not deprioritized — Achal Lohade (Nuvama) cited a historical run-rate of Rs.500–600 crore annually (period unspecified); Ashwani Gupta said SEZ remains an important pillar among the company's 31 P&Ls, with continued capitalization at Mundra and exploration of industrial-zone opportunities (rather than SEZ per se) at Krishnapatnam and Dhamra; SEZ was low-profile over the last two quarters.