METALS and mining giant Vedanta recorded a nearly 61 per cent rise in its consolidated profit for the September quarter, the company said on Thursday (14).
The Anil Agarwal-controlled firm’s profit stood at Rs 21.58 billion, or £233.43 million, when compared to the Rs 13.43bn recorded in the same quarter of the last financial year.
The consolidated revenue fell 3.29 per cent year on year (YoY), coming at Rs 219.58bn (£2.38bn) in the second quarter of the current financial year when compared to last year’s Rs 227.05bn.
The headwinds in commodity prices resulted in a decline in the revenue, the company said. It witnessed a one-time deferred tax benefit of Rs 18.91bn (£204.55m) in the quarter.
Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, chief executive officer at Vedanta, said: “We are at an exciting transition that will see the company accelerate in the expansion of its reserves and resource base over the coming quarters. This expansion is being delivered through strict capital allocation and balance sheet focus aimed at creating value for our stakeholders.
“As we look forward to the year, we have in place the building blocks to enhance our performance in the three key businesses. We have immense confidence in being able to deliver the best from our assets and people whilst always being committed to our core values around ethics, governance and social responsibility.”
The company stated that its balance sheet improved during the September quarter.
Vedanta said: "The gross debt reduced by Rs 32.79bn (£354.69m), in line with our continued focus on deleveraging, and the net debt reduced by Rs 83.22bn (£900m) in Q2FY2020. The net debt/EBITDA at 0.9 times is lowest among Indian peers.”
In the Zinc India segment, ore production rose by three per cent at 3.6 million tonnes with strong growth at Rampura Agucha and Zawar Mines.
In the Zinc international segment, Gamsberg production stood at 24,000 tonnes in the second quarter and a ramp-up is in progress, according to the company.
Alumina production of 410,000 tonnes rose 18 per cent YoY in the last quarter.
Vedanta emerged as the highest bidder for Jamkhani coal block in Odisha, the company said.
It recorded the highest ever quarterly iron ore sales in the southern Indian state of Karnataka at 1.4 million tonnes.
Hatul Shah
Olivier Picard
Fergus Auld speak on pharmacy’s evolving role