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    Ambani, Adani and three other billionaires have just lost $15 billion

    Synopsis

    When Modi government came to power in 2014, Adani was one man projected to benefit the most.

    Ambani,-Adani---BCCL
    Shares of four Adani Group companies have lost anywhere between 7 per cent and 45 per cent this calendar.
    NEW DELHI: India’s top 20 billionaires have together witnessed a $17.85 billion loss in net worth so far in 2018, with the top five alone losing $15 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaire index suggested.

    Among the top losers has been Gautam Adani, whose net worth has dropped $3.68 billion to $6.75 billion. When the Modi government came to power in 2014, Adani was one man projected to benefit the most.

    Shares of four Adani Group companies have lost anywhere between 7 per cent and 45 per cent this calendar. The four group companies – Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Transmission and Adani Ports & SEZ – have together reported 13.76 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 3,546 crore for FY18 on a modest 3.85 per cent rise in sales to Rs 73,260 crore.

    Adani is 242th richest on the Bloomberg index.

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    Another big loser is Azim Premji, who has controlling stake in Wipro, India’s third largest IT firm. The company has been struggling to log consistent growth due to ramping down of its accounts, challenges in industry pockets and continuing slippage in its traditional business, said brokerage Sharekhan. The stock is down 16 per cent year to date.

    Wipro has been at the bottom of the pyramid when it comes to performance among the Big Four (IT players), an industry watcher recently told ETMarkets.

    Billionaire Dilip Shanghvi, who controls Sun Pharmaceuticals, has also seen a sharp erosion in his fortunes. His net worth has declined by $3.48 billion to $9.34 billion this calendar, thanks to a 21 per cent drop in the shares of Sun Pharmaceuticals, as analysts are not convinced about its growth trajectory.

    Given the ongoing pressures in the company's US generics business, particularly in its core area of topicals (Taro), declining revenue base for Absorica, as well as catchup by peers in the complex injectables (e.g. liposomals) business, specialty rollup is critical to revive growth momentum, says Kotak Securities, which expects hurdles ahead for the company’s specialty initiatives, given the intensifying competitive landscape.

    At 18 times FY2020 EPS, the stock has priced in full recovery from Halol, as well as $200 million sales from specialty products, the brokerage said.

    Shanghvi is 153rd richest person in the world, as per the Bloomberg index.

    Oil-to-telecom major Mukesh Ambani has seen a notional loss of $2.83 billion in his net worth this year to $37.4 billion.

    Ambani, ranked 21st richest person on the planet, promotes Reliance Industries, India’s second-most valued firm after TCS.

    CHart revisedETMarkets.com

    Shares of RIL are down 1 per cent this calendar, while those of Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, another Ambani-promoted company, are down 25 per cent. Ambani also has stakes in two listed media firms, whose shares are down too.

    Fifth on the list is Kumar Birla. Eight of Birla's listed firms have seen a 19.72 per cent erosion in their combined market value to Rs 2,19,904 crore from Rs 2,73,932 crore at the end of 2017. Shares of his companies including Hindalco, Idea Cellular, UltraTech Cement and AB Capital have dropped between 7 per cent and 50 per cent this calendar. His net worth has declined $2.24 billion to $6.83 billion.

    The sixth person on the list is the country ‘s richest real estate tycoon KP Singh. Shares of his company, DLF, where he has majority shareholding, have dropped 25 per cent this calendar. Singh's net worth has dropped by $1.65 billion to $4.79 billion.

    FY18 has been a difficult year with muted sales in H1FY18 owing to RERA. "In addition, demand for DLF’s luxury portfolio in Phase-V was lukewarm. With a Rs 14,300 crore inventory still in hand, DLF will continue to focus on selling the same,” HDFC Institutional Research said in a note.

    The company has guided for an annual pre-sales run rate of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore. The NCR market is now showing signs of revival. Existing inventory seems to have much better margin profile.

    “We continue to remain positive with debt reduction and sales revival in sight,” it added. Cyprus Poonawalla stands at seventh spot.



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    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
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