Adani Wilmar has a lot going for it
Adani Wilmar has a lot going for it
Adani Wilmar has a lot going for it
this year has been a landmark. new ‘unicorns’ get minted virtually at the rate of one-every-week, more mature startups such as Zomato are making successful leaps to the public markets. thus far, 35 companies have made their debut on the bourses this year, and their pace is only picking up. in the past one-month period, over 30 companies have filed applications with SEBI to go public.
among them are Nykaa, VLCC, Star Health & Allied Insurance, and Adani Wilmar. the last of these has, however, unfortunately had its application put on hold.
why is that?
Adani Wilmar is a 50-50 joint venture between the Adani and Wilmar groups, which operates in the FMCG segment. In particular, it is the maker of one India’s top edible-oil brands, Fortune. it filed paperwork for a ₹4,500 crore IPO at the beginning of this month, hot on the heels of Ruchi Soya applying for a follow-on public offer (FPO). while the latter got the nod, Adani Wilmar has been held up due to a pending investigation against Adani Enterprises over its foreign portfolio investments.
this is a temporary setback, typically lasting 90 days, and the FMCG major’s IPO is expected to go ahead eventually.
will it be worthwhile?
Adani Wilmar has a presence in segments such as basmati rice, atta, maida, sooji, rawa, pulses and besan. it has also forayed into ready-to-cook products, sugar, and soya snacks. it also caters to institutional demand with bulk packs of consumer essentials as well as bakery fats, castor oil derivatives, oleo chemicals, and more. it also dabbles in the personal and skincare categories, and has recently entered the hand wash and sanitiser segment too.
it’s not just another horse in the race either. it dominates the edible oil segment with
a market share of over 18%, chiefly through its flagship Fortune brand. it has 22 plants across 10 states in India, comprising 10 crushing units and 18 refineries. these are strategically placed close to ports to facilitate imports, exports, and reduce transportation costs.
the Indian packaged food retail market, estimated at ₹6 lakh crore in FY20 contributes only 15% to the total food and grocery retail market. however, it is growing at almost twice the pace of the overall category and is expected to reach a market share of 17% by FY25. furthermore Adani Wilmar registered a growth of 24% in revenues for FY21, at ₹37,196 crores as compared to ₹29,767 crores in FY20, becoming one of the fastest growing packaged food companies in the country. a majority chunk of it came from edible oils, which are also receiving a boost from the Indian government.
it might take a while to roll the dice on this IPO, but one that will more than likely be worth the wait.