Vedanta declares £1.22 bn dividend as profit soars

COMMODITIES major Vedanta Ltd reported a 58 per cent jump in its annual net profit, riding on a surge in metal and energy prices.

Shareholders of the Anil Agarwal-led company are set to receive a windfall of Rs 117.10 billion (£1.22 bn) as it declared a first interim dividend of Rs 31.5 (33p) per share.

Its profit after tax (PAT) rose to Rs 237.09 bn (£2.47 bn) for the financial year ended on March 31 against Rs 150.33 bn (£1.57 bn) a year ago, reflecting the company’s focus on volume growth as commodity prices boomed.

The income from operations shot up 51 per cent to Rs 1.3 trillion (£13.66 bn) during the year under review from Rs 868.63 bn (£9.05 bn) in the previous year, while the earnings per share improved to Rs 50.73 (53p) from Rs 31.32 (33p), the company said in a filing to stock exchanges.

However, the company’s PAT for the January-March quarter declined five per cent year-on-year to Rs 72.61 bn (£760 million) from Rs 76.29 bn (£790m) but went up 36 per cent compared to the October-December period. Its net debt declined by Rs 65.90 bn (£690m) to Rs 209.79 bn (£2.18 bn) since the end of December.

For the full year, the company reported an all-time high EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) of Rs 453.19 billion (£4.72 bn), up 66 per cent compared to the previous year.

Vedanta CEO Sunil Duggal attributed the performance to its “relentless focus on volume growth and operational efficiency, underpinned by structural integration and technology adoption”.

He said the pre-capex free cash flow of ₹27.54 bn (£290m) allowed the company to reinvest for growth.

Vedanta signed an agreement for 580 MW renewable power distribution in its bid to become a net zero-carbon organisation.

The company’s stock has been on an upswing since an attempt by Agarwal to take it private fell through in 2020. Its shares gained 59 per cent in the past year but declined by about half a per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday (29) to Rs 409.4 (£4.26) when the general sentiment in the market was bearish.