Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited’s (APSEZ, /Negative) acquisition of the North Queensland Export Terminal (NQXT) is credit neutral, Fitch Rating says. We expect the acquisition to support APSEZ’s international diversification.
On 17 April 2025, APSEZ announced it will acquire NQXT by issuing new equity shares to the Australian coal terminal’s shareholders, which are the same promoter group as for APSEZ. The transaction is currently pending approval from shareholders and the authorities.
We expect APSEZ’s financial profile to remain intact after the acquisition, with forecast gross leverage of around 3.0x from the financial year ending March 2026 (FY26) to FY29 in Fitch’s rating case. The acquisition will increase the share of APSEZ’s EBITDA from global operations to 10% from 4% currently. It will also raise the share of coal in APSEZ’s cargo mix by around 3% to 4%. NQXT’s annual throughput of 35 million tonnes is entirely coal-related and comprises 55% metallurgical and 45% thermal coal. However, we expect the share of coal to reduce over the medium to long term given the faster growth of APSEZ’s other cargo segments, mainly containers.
The acquisition is unlikely to have any impact on NQXT’s operations as APSEZ already operates the terminal. NQXT requires minimal capex in the medium term, with current capacity utilisation at 70%. In any case, NQXT earns market returns from any capex incurred via terminal infrastructure charges, subject to agreement from terminal users.
NQXT benefits from medium-term take-or-pay contracts and a long remaining terminal lease life of 85 years, which will improve the stability of APSEZ’s cash flows, though the terminal’s contribution is likely to remain modest. NQXT also has minimal refinancing risk, with no debt maturity until 2030. In addition, NQXT’s debt structure also includes features like restrictions on additional indebtedness and cash outflows.
Source: Fitch Ratings
