Vedanta Net Profit Rises 26% To Rs 4,164 Crore In December Quarter

Vedanta Ltd on Friday reported a 26.2 rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,164 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,299 crore in the year-ago period, Vedanta Ltd said in a filing to BSE.

The consolidated income of the company during the October-December period increased to Rs 34,674 crore over Rs 23,621 crore earlier, the filing said.

 "This was our best-ever quarter... Of course some headwinds on the cost because of the different market conditions and the fuel supply globally which the world has gone through. But the good point is that in almost all the businesses if you look at nine-months volume... these record the highest volumes. Because of that, I think we have done well. The trajectory of doing better quarter on quarter which we have been able to maintain in three quarters will continue," the company's Chief Executive Officer Sunil Duggal told PTI over the phone.

The revenue for the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal was at Rs 33,697 crore, higher by 50 per cent y-o-y, primarily supported by improved commodity prices and higher sales volume across businesses, partially offset by lower sales volume at zinc international and iron and steel businesses.

 "We are happy to announce that we have taken a number of actions in the last three months to further the journey of ESG transformation that was laid out last quarter.

 "With the commitment to transforming the planet and becoming net-zero carbon by 2050 or sooner, the momentum for decarbonisation across the business has increased with the focus areas being renewable energy, fuel switch, fleet electrification, plantations and afforestation.

 "We have entered into a number of partnerships to bring best-in-class expertise and also strengthen our commitment to transforming the communities and the workplace," Duggal said.

The company delivered another strong quarter, with record quarterly and nine monthly revenue and EBITDA, he added.

Vedanta reported quarterly EBITDA of Rs 10,938 crore, up 42 per cent y-o-y, and quarterly attributable profit after tax (before exceptional items) of Rs 4,189 crore, up 27 per cent, with sustained margins benefitting from operational efficiencies and high commodity prices despite input commodity headwinds.

 "Overall, we have had a very good 9-months run with highest ever 9M production across almost all of our businesses. Q3 played a big part in it with highest ever quarterly production from HZL, Aluminium & ESL," he said, adding the company's commitment remains unchanged towards shareholders return and capital allocation.

 "We reduced net debt by Rs 7,781 crore Y-o-Y...," he said.

Depreciation and amortisation for Q3 FY'22 were at Rs 2,274 crore, up 19 per cent on an annual basis, primarily on account of higher depletion charge at oil and gas, capitalisation at aluminium and zinc India businesses.

Finance cost for the quarter was at Rs 1,216 crore, down 8 per cent, mainly due to lower average borrowings, partially offset by an increased rate of borrowings.

"We have strong cash and cash equivalents of Rs 25,207 crore. The Company follows a board-approved investment policy and invests in high-quality debt instruments with mutual funds, bonds, and fixed deposits with banks," the company said.

Gross debt was at Rs 52,783 crore as on December 31 2021, deleveraged by Rs 9,629 crore y-o-y. This was mainly due to deleveraging at zinc India and the aluminium business.

Net debt was at Rs 27,576 crore, a reduction of Rs 7,781 crore y-o-y, primarily driven by strong cash flow from operations and repayment of the inter-company loan from Vedanta Resources, offset by Capex and dividend payment.