Vedanta announces ₹4,000 crore dividend, plans to raise ₹8,500 crore

Mumbai: Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd on Thursday said that it will be raising ₹8,500 crore of capital through either the equity or the debt route even as the metals and mining major declared its interim dividend for the year that will make a dent of ₹4,089 crore in its coffers.

Vedanta will issue a dividend of ₹11 per share and has set 25 May as the record date.

The company also announced the investment of an undisclosed sum in its Saudi Arabian unit Vedanta Copper International VCI Co. Ltd (VCI). The capital will be used for setting up a continuous cast copper rod plant, the company said in a regulatory filing.

“VCI is in the process of establishing a state-of-the-art copper rod manufacturing facility with a projected capacity of 125 KTPA in KSA, which will enable the company to explore more growth opportunities in new geographies,” the regulatory filing read. KTPA stands for kilo tonnes per annum.

The company’s board of directors in their meeting on Thursday also approved an amendment in the articles of association of the company. A new clause will be added to the company’s articles of association to meet the terms of a financing agreement, the company said, without disclosing further details.

The announcements were made after market hours. The Vedanta scrip closed nearly a per cent lower on the BSE on Thursday at ₹433.20 compared to a similar gain in the benchmark Sensex. The stock has gained almost 70% since the beginning of the year.

History of high dividends

Vedanta has been known for declaring high dividends to its shareholders, primarily led by the need for its London-based parent Vedanta Resources to meet its debt payments. Vedanta Resources is a holding company and relies on dividends from its operational subsidiaries to meet its substantial debt obligations.

The company distributed aggregate dividends of ₹29.50 per share in FY24 and ₹101.50 per share the year before. The dividends far outstripped the earnings per share for the company in recent years as the company doled out excess capital in a bid to aid its parent during a cash crunch.

“Vedanta reported muted earnings performance in Q4FY24, majorly due to a fall in aluminium and zinc segments. However, aluminium and zinc have recorded a fall in CoP (cost of production) for the 7th and 5th consecutive quarters, respectively. Further, the net debt/Ebitda has improved sequentially. The management is focusing on strategic deleveraging techniques, capacity expansion plans and further cost reduction to enhance efficiency. We believe these factors should boost the company’s performance in the near term,” analysts at Geojit noted in a report last week.

The company had a net debt of ₹56,338 crore as of 31 March compared to ₹62,493 crore as of 31 December. The net debt to Ebitda ratio improved from 1.7x to 1.5x over this period.