Gautam Adani's company has cut its revenue growth objective and intends to delay further capital investments as the Indian billionaire works to restore investor trust following a brutal short seller attack, according to people familiar with the matter.

The persons, who wished to remain anonymous since the negotiations are confidential, said that the group will now aim for revenue growth of 15% to 20% for at least the upcoming fiscal year, down from the 40% growth initially targeted. They added that capital spending plans would also be scaled back as the company prioritises strengthening its financial position over rapid expansion.

The change demonstrates how the ports-to-power company, which is attempting to rectify the harm caused by a damning analysis by Hindenburg Research on January 24, is concentrated on preserving cash, paying off debt, and recovering pledged shares. Even though the American short seller's accusations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation were rejected by Adani Group, the incident nevertheless caused a stock market crash that reduced the market value of the Adani empire by nearly $120 billion.

The conglomerate may save up to $3 billion by delaying investments for just three months, money that could be used to reduce debt or increase the company's cash reserves, according to another source.

The plans of the organisation are still being examined and are expected to be completed in the next weeks, according to the persons.

An email requesting views on the Adani Group's decision to reduce its revenue objective and defer capital investment received no immediate response from a representative of the company.

Despite being fully subscribed the day before, the $2.5 billion follow-on share offer was abruptly cancelled by the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd NSE -7.79% on February 1 as the businessman attempted to spare his investors from embarrassing mark-to-market losses due to the continuous stock selloff. A retail bond sale was cancelled by the corporation a few days later.

Adani Group has been concentrating to shoring up confidence and allaying worries about its financial stability.
The group reported on February 6 that Adani and his family paid off loans totaling $1.11 billion to free pledged shares across three companies, and on February 8 the ports unit stated intentions to pay off 50 billion rupees in debt in the year beginning in April to improve a crucial credit rating.

After several banks baulked at refinancing the debt, the company wants to prepay a $500 million bridge loan due next month, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing individuals familiar with the discussions. It was a component of the fund-raising efforts last year to pay for the purchase of the cement assets of Holcim Ltd. in India.

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