The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
LONDON, FEB 15, 2023
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources Limited, the parent company of Vedanta Limited, has slashed net debt by $2 billion in the current financial year as it seeks to soothe investor concern over its liquidity and ability to repay upcoming obligations.
Powered by robust domestic consumption in the fastest growing major economy, Vedanta Resources Ltd. has achieved half of its three-year planned reduction commitment of $4 billion in the last 11 months, the London-based company said in an exchange filing. It will continue to deleverage from net debt of $7.7 billion in the next two financial years (FY24 and FY25), it said.
Over the past 20 years, Vedanta has raised more than $35 billion through debt and equity and yielded highly attractive returns to shareholders, while maintaining an excellent track record of debt servicing.
Vedanta, a former FTSE 100 company, has an unparalleled portfolio encompassing: Zinc (world’s largest integrated producer), Aluminium (India’s largest producer of primary aluminium), Oil & Gas (India’s largest private producer of crude), Silver (6th largest producer globally), battery metals: Nickel (India’s sole nickel producer) & Cobalt, Copper, Iron Ore & Steel and Commercial Energy.
Vedanta’s next phase of growth will be fueled by its associated companies’investmentsinto Semiconductors (India’s first Semiconductor producer in collaboration with Foxconn), display glass (Avanstrate), renewables (through joint venture with KKR), optical fibre (fibre to home) and transmissions. Vedanta’s portfolio uniquely covers traditional and cutting-edgebusinesses.
Vedanta is set to capitalize on India’s growth, stable governance, and the strength of 1.4 billion Indians increasing their reliance on domestic production. Vedanta Limited ranked 6th on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2022, a towering jump of 14 places, and is uniquely positioned to deliver sustainable value on the back of its strong ESG performance.
