10th Nov 2016 08:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Vedanta Resources PLC said Thursday that the drop in commodity prices in the first half of its financial year brought revenue down substantially, although the company reintroduced its interim dividend.
FTSE 250-listed Vedanta reported its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the six months to September 30 were USD1.23 billion, a 4.0% decrease from USD1.29 billion the year prior. Revenue during the period fell 15% year-on-year to USD4.87 billion from USD5.70 billion.
Vedanta said the drop in earnings and revenue was due to lower commodity prices and lower volumes at its Zinc India operations, in line with its mining plans.
However, Vedanta said its operating profit for the period increased to USD720 million from USD578 million the year before. The company's underlying loss per share of 18.8 US cents was also substantially narrowed from USD57.6 cents the previous year.
Vedanta declared an interim dividend of 20 US cents per share, after paying out no interim dividend in 2015.
Shares in Vedanta were up 6.4% at 831.00 pence early Wednesday, one of the best performers in the FTSE 250 index.
The company also noted its merger with Cairn India, approved by its shareholders in September, is expected to complete in the first quarter of calendar year 2017.
"Vedanta Resources continues to deliver on all fronts, achieving robust operational and financial performance in the first half of the financial year. We ramped-up production as planned at our Aluminium, Power and Iron Ore businesses. We continue our relentless focus on cost optimisation, generating strong free cash flow and de-levering our balance sheet," said Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta.
By Adam Clark; [email protected]
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