Vedanta Ltd reported a 60.8 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit for the quarter due to higher expenses. The company’s profit stood at Rs 1,808 crore for the quarter that ended September 30, reported PTI. Vedanta Ltd in its regulatory filing said that the company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,615 crore in the year-ago period.
Vedanta’s consolidated income during the July-September period increased from Rs 31,074 crore last year to Rs 37,351 crore this year. The company’s expenses during the quarter under review increased to Rs 33,221 crore from Rs 23,171 crore in the year-ago period.
The company has generated strong free cash flow (pre capex) of Rs 8,369 crore strengthened by robust operational and financial performance, Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer, Vedanta Ltd said.
Vedanta said that its projects on growth and vertical integration, which intend to reduce market volatility impact and create shareholders’ value, are going well. The company said that its board has given a go-head for expansion of rolled product capacity at its arm Balco from current 50 KTPA to 180 KTPA at a revised cost of Rs 595 crore.
“With the completion of this project, Balco will be placed in high premium product segment,” Vedanta said. The board has also approved expansion of smelter capacity of Balco from existing 580 KTPA to 994 KTPA at a revised cost of approximately Rs 8,094 crore, subject to necessary government approvals, the report said.
The company’s revenue in the second quarter went up by 21 per cent to Rs 36,237 crore over the year-ago-period on the back of higher sales volume and strategic hedging among others, Vedanta said. Vedanta’s “depreciation and amortization increased by 24 per cent Y-o-Y and 6 per cent Q-o-Q to Rs 2,624 crore; mainly due to higher depletion charge in oil and gas and amortisation at Zinc India”.
The company’s gross debt quarter-on-quarter dropped to Rs 58,597 crore, down by Rs 2,543 crore as on September 30, 2022.
An arm of Vedanta Resources, Vedanta Ltd is one of the world’s leading oil and gas and metals firm with operations across India, South Africa and Namibia.
