Billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd on November 8 reported net profit (attributable to owners) of Rs 4,352 crore in the September quarter against a loss of Rs 1,783 crore in the year-ago period, helped by lower taxes.
The mining major's revenue from operations declined 3.6 percent to Rs 37,171 crore, the company said in an exchange filing. Quarterly EBITDA grew 44 percent to Rs 10,364 crore due to favourable commodity prices, structural cost-saving initiatives and increased premia across businesses, the company said.
"The second half of this year will be a transformative period with our major growth and integration projects coming online and ramping up," said executive director Arun Misra, noting the conglomerate's strategy to continue drive down the cost of production.
On a standalone basis, revenue declined 5 percent to Rs 18,003 crore, while net profit after tax before exceptional items rose to Rs 7,635 crore from the previous year.
"This strong performance is driven by cost efficiency, volume growth, and favourable commodity prices. Additionally, we raised $1.4 billion at Vedanta through a $1 billion QIP and a $400 million HZL OFS. At the same time, with the $1.2 billion VRL bond issuance and ongoing deleveraging, we have reduced Holdco (holding company) debt to $4.8 billion, the lowest level in a decade," chief financial officer Ajay Goel said.
Meanwhile, Vedanta recorded an exceptional gain of Rs 1,136 crore, driven by an impairment reversal in its oil & gas business. The gain was partially offset by an impairment charge in ASI and an additional cess in the zinc and iron ore segments following a Supreme Court order imposing an additional cess on mineral-bearing land and mining rights, the company said.
Separately, the company flagged that its demerger plan is on track and in its final stages, with shareholder and creditor meetings scheduled in the coming months.
Segment results
Consolidated revenue from Vedanta's oil and gas segment dropped over 60% YOY to Rs 2,825 crore, exerting substantial downward pressure on the company’s overall revenue performance. On the other hand, revenue from sales of zinc, lead and silver rose 21 per cent YOY to Rs 7,953 crore. Revenue from the aluminium unit rose to Rs 13,734 crore as compared to Rs 11,952 crore.
Debt levels
The company also raised Rs 8,500 crore through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) at Rs 440 a share. Second quarter net debt stood at Rs 56,927 crore ,which is lower by RS 4,400 crore compared to the June quarter and net debt to EBITDA ratio was at 1.49x. The company's cash and cash equivalent stands at Rs 21,727 crore as compared to Rs 16,702 crore a year ago.
At 3.05 pm, the Vedanta stock was trading at Rs 457.85 on the National Stock Exchange, down 0.01 percent from the previous day.
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