Diversified natural resources company Vedanta Ltd. posted barely a 2.13% rise in its consolidated net profits to ₹1,533 crore from ₹1,501 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal year, missing analysts estimates of ₹2,156 crore by quite a margin.
The firms revenue from operations for the quarter grew by 14.8% to ₹22,206 crore on the back of higher volumes at it’s aluminium, gas and oil businesses, while it’s Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) was up by 31% since last year, amounting to 6526 crore. company also has cash and liquid investments of ₹35,251 crore and it’s debt stands at ₹29,910 crore.
In May this year, Vedanta Ltd was forced to scrap its plans for a copper smelting plan in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, following protests by locals over environmental degradation in the area. The protests had turned violent, with the police taking measures like bursting teargas shells and making baton charges on the mobs, which ultimately led to the police opening fire, killing 13 protesters.
Commenting on the situation, chairman Anil Agrawal had at that time said: “This (plant) is about 2% of our balance sheet… and if the plant is shut down or the whole year we will have a loss of about $100 million.”
However, when asked about the same after the Q1 results were declared, CEO Kuldip Kaura also said that the “copper plant is a small portion of all their operations”, and that the “closure of the plant is affecting its customers, as the company supplied 40 per cent of the copper in India.”
“We are excited about the growth across our portfolio of zinc, aluminum and oil & gas. The projects are advancing well to meet key milestones and we are confident of the progressive volume uplift in the coming quarters,” he also added.