Vedanta Limited on Tuesday posted its fiscal first quarter earnings with profit at Rs 5,095 crore, reporting a growth of 54 per cent in comparison to Rs 3,308 crore recorded during the corresponding quarter of FY24, surpassing estimates. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 35,239 crore, up 5.7 per cent as against Rs 33,342 crore during the first quarter of previous fiscal year, driven by favorable market prices. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 9,945 crore.
According to a CNBC TV18 poll, Vedanta was expected to record a Q1 profit of Rs 3,150 crore and revenue for the quarter was estimated at Rs 37,200 crore.
Arun Misra, Executive Director, Vedanta Limited, said, “Vedanta has delivered a strong start to the year, with exceptional EBITDA improvement of 47 per cent and PAT improvement by 54 per cent year over year on the back of improved margins, and robust cost reduction across all operations. Our aluminium and zinc divisions continue to outperform industry benchmarks, consistently ranking in the top quartiles and deciles of the global cost curve. These achievements are a direct result of our strategic focus on cost, as reflected in a 20 per cent year-over-year reduction in overall cost.”
Vedanta’s Q1 performance across verticals
Vedanta said that the overall cost of production declined by approximately 20 per cent YoY on back of structural changes and other initiatives.
Aluminium: Vedanta recorded highest ever alumina production at Lanjigarh refinery at 539 kt, up 36 per cent YoY driven by new capacity. Cast Metal production of Aluminium, meanwhile, was at 596 kt, up 3 per cent YoY. It said that the aluminium cost of production was lower by 11 per cent YoY.
Zinc India: It posted highest-ever mined metal production in first quarter at 263 kt, up 2 per cent YoY and the refined metal production in first quarter came in at 262 kt, up 1 per cent YoY.
Zinc International: Mined metal production of Zinc International was at 38 kt, down 45 per cent YoY due to lower tonnes milled and zinc grades. Overall cost of production was down by 4 per cent QoQ.
Oil & Gas: Average daily gross operated production of 112.4 kboepd, natural decline was partially offset by the infill wells brought online in Mangala and RDG fields.
Iron Ore: Karnataka saleable ore production was at 1.2 million tonnes, down 4 per cent YoY. Pig Iron production was reported at 205 kt.
Steel: Saleable steel production was at 356 kt, 10 per cent YoY on account of improved operational efficiency.
Facor: It posted highest ever quarterly Ferro Chrome production at 28 kt up, around 3x YoY.
Copper India: Tuticorin Smelting operations have remained halted since April 2018. The company is evaluating the legal remedies for sustainable restart of Tuticorin plant.
Ajay Goel, CFO, Vedanta, said, “The start of FY25 has demonstrated phenomenal growth. In this quarter, we achieved an impressive EBITDA of Rs 10,275 crore, a jump of 47 per cent YoY, with robust EBITDA margin of 34 per cent and a PAT of Rs 5,095 crore, with YoY growth of 54 per cent. This reflects strong business performance on cost and volume which is additionally supported by elevated commodity prices. The overwhelming response to the Vedanta’s $1 bn QIP, one of the largest in industry, underscores investor’s huge confidence. The proceeds from the QIP will be further instrumental in deleveraging balance sheet and reduction of finance cost. We have received all the requisite approvals and have filed the demerger scheme with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) taking our demerger a step closer to reality.”