Adani Group on Monday said the Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of its group companies rose 47% to cross Rs 43,688 crore ($5.3 billion) in the first half of the current fiscal (H1FY24).The growth, its highest ever for a half-year period, was driven mainly by the core infrastructure businesses, the group said in a statement.The half-year figure also surpassed the full-year Ebitda recorded in FY22.

The core infrastructure businesses grew by 52% on a year-on-year basis to Rs 37,379 crore, contributing 86% of the total Ebitda, the statement said.The pre-tax Ebitda is of 11 listed companies. These businesses include utilities (Adani Green Energy, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Power and Adani Total Gas), transport (Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone) and those being incubated by Adani Enterprises (AEL) such as green hydrogen integrated manufacturing, airports and roads.

The incubation under AEL “continues to progress well”, the statement said, adding that the assets contributed to 8% of the overall Ebitda.The emerging business of the low-cost green hydrogen integrated manufacturing delivered a 212% y-o-y revenue growth and 10 times Ebitda growth.The airports business under AEL posted a 29% y-o-y growth in passengers in the first half, posting a 42% rise in revenue.The renewable business under Adani Green Energy posted a 76% rise in Ebitda to `8,325 crore on a trailing 12-month basis.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone’s domestic cargo volumes growth exceeded the 200-million metric tonne mark for the first time within a six-month period. This led to the ports business growing at over two times of the overall cargo volume growth in India.The group’s trailing 12-month Ebitda stood at `71,253 crore, which was about three times that of the FY19 Ebitda.A January 24 report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research had accused Adani Group of significant governance lapses, following which half of the group’s market capitalisation was wiped out.