Adani Wilmar: From Fortune Oils to Fortunes Lost — Can This Slippery Stock Get Its Grip Back?

Adani Wilmar: From Fortune Oils to Fortunes Lost — Can This Slippery Stock Get Its Grip Back?

📉 CMP: ₹250
📌 52-Week Low: ₹243 | 52-Week High: ₹469

Once the golden goose of the Adani flock, Adani Wilmar now feels more like a stray chicken in the backyard of the FMCG market. After the Adani family offloaded a significant chunk of their stake, the stock has been on a diet stricter than your New Year resolution — slimming down 46% from its peak. But is this the market’s version of intermittent fasting — or just the company detoxing before a comeback?

Let’s dive in. (Careful, it’s slippery.)

🧈 What’s Cooking in the Kitchen?
Adani Wilmar, best known for Fortune edible oils, also plays in packaged foods, rice, wheat flour, and personal care. Its primary claim to fame: being a joint venture between Adani Group and Wilmar International (a Singapore-based agri-giant). Well, at least it was a joint venture…

🚨 The Exit: Adani Says “Mung Dal Bye!”
In a shocking turn of events, the Adani family offloaded a large portion of their stake, slashing their shareholding from a robust 87.88% to 74.36% as of March 2025. That’s like mom taking her name off the family WhatsApp group.

Why? Regulatory compliance and possible group-level risk diversification post-Hindenburg saga are probable reasons. But for retail investors, this move triggered some good ol’ panic selling, dragging the stock to ₹250 — uncomfortably close to its 52-week low.

Adding salt to the wound, the second phase of the deal will see Wilmar International — a partner since the company’s inception — acquire the remaining 31% stake, making it the majority shareholder, with a holding of nearly 75%. This means Adani Enterprises is completely exiting the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) business, allowing it to refocus on its core infrastructure ventures. The second phase of this transaction will see Wilmar expanding its stake through Lence Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Wilmar International, buying the remaining shares from Adani’s wholly owned subsidiary Adani Commodities LLP.

📊 Financial Masala: Raw Numbers, Cooked Commentary
Let’s look at the quarterly results to understand if this company’s oil is still hot or if it’s just another leftover.

🏭 Sales (QoQ Growth)

QuarterSales (₹ Cr)QoQ Growth
Dec 2023₹16,839+16.4%
Mar 2024₹18,230+8.3%
Mar 2025₹18,230Flat

Not bad! The company is growing steadily despite the noise — even with high base effect and weak rural demand.

💸 Operating Profit (OPM Story)
Operating profit has fluctuated like your gym attendance:

  • Mar 2023: ₹118 Cr (OPM: 1%)
  • Dec 2023: ₹792 Cr (OPM: 5%)
  • Mar 2025: ₹448 Cr (OPM: 2%)

Margins are under pressure again. Blame it on rising input costs and hyper-competitive pricing — especially in edible oils where Fortune competes with brands like Saffola, Gemini, and, well, your neighborhood kirana uncle’s “loose oil.”

💥 Net Profit: The Real Biryani

  • Mar 2024: ₹157 Cr
  • Dec 2024: ₹411 Cr
  • Mar 2025: ₹191 Cr

The volatility in profits is clear, but TTM net profit is ₹1,226 Cr, a 675% jump YoY. You read that right — six hundred seventy-five percent! Investors ignored this like kids ignore “low fat” food labels.

💼 Balance Sheet — The Fat Content
Let’s take a peek under the financial hood:

MetricMar 2023Mar 2025
Borrowings₹2,396 Cr₹1,937 Cr
Reserves₹8,036 Cr₹9,294 Cr
Net Cash Flow₹268 Cr₹336 Cr
ROCE10%21% (🔥)

Borrowings down, reserves up, cash flow rising. This isn’t a struggling company — it’s a company on a detox and cardio regimen.

🏦 Shareholding Shake-Up: Everyone’s Invited!
The stake sale by Adanis has led to an interesting twist:

StakeholderJun 2023Mar 2025
Promoters87.94%74.36%
FIIs1.14%4.31%
DIIs0.06%8.90%

Institutional investors are rushing in. The DII stake surged from nearly nothing to 8.9%, while FIIs also quadrupled their holding. Either they know something we don’t… or they’re just really into cooking oil futures.

🤡 The Market’s Reaction: “Bro, It’s Just Oil!”
Despite TTM profit and margins stabilizing, the stock price has halved from ₹469 to ₹250. Why?

  • Low OPM: Still hovering between 2-4%.
  • Commodity linkage: Edible oils = price volatility.
  • Market overhang: Promoter exit creates supply shock.
  • Brand fatigue: Fortune is a top brand but lacks moat or pricing power.

Basically, Adani Wilmar is like the Rohit Sharma of FMCG — powerful when consistent, but still gives you a few nervous starts.

🔮 Is It a Multibagger in Hiding?
Let’s consider the pros:

✅ Profit Growth: 675% TTM
✅ Sales CAGR: 24% (TTM), 17% (5-Year)
✅ ROCE: 21%
✅ DII/FII interest rising
✅ Debt reduced

Now the cons:

❌ Volatile OPM
❌ Still near 52-week low
❌ Commodity dependency
❌ Retail sentiment weak

So… Buy the Dip or Slip Further?
At ₹250, the stock trades close to book value, has a P/E of around 17x, and TTM EPS of ₹9.43 — suggesting fair-to-slightly-undervalued pricing in today’s overpriced market.

This may not be a rocketship, but it’s definitely a pressure cooker — things are heating up inside. If it can hold margins at even 4% and maintain profitability, it could easily rebound to ₹350–400 in 12–18 months.

🛍️ Verdict: Add to Cart, But Keep the Frying Pan Handy
Adani Wilmar is no longer just a “promoter-driven” stock. It’s turning into a numbers-driven business with improving financial discipline and growing institutional interest.

While it may not become the next HUL, its FMCG + agri-play + export potential make it worth watching. For risk-tolerant investors with a 2-year horizon, this stock might just make your portfolio sizzle again.

Rating: 🍳 Cautious Accumulate

Disclaimer: This article is for infotainment purposes only. Consult your financial advisor before investing. Also, please do not deep-fry your portfolio in hot oil.

Prashant Marathe

https://eduinvesting.in

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