Sesa Sterlite reports Rs 1,621.55 cr net profit in Q4

Company had reported net profit of Rs 297.51 crore and net sales of Rs 287.49 crore in the January-March quarter of 2012-13 fiscal

Vedanta group firm Sesa Sterlite today reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1,621.55 crore for the quarter ended March 31, and net sales of Rs 20,784.62 crore.

The company, previously known as Sesa Goa, had reported net profit of Rs 297.51 crore and net sales of Rs 287.49 crore in the January-March quarter of 2012-13 fiscal, it said in a filing to the BSE.

Results of the company, however, are not comparable due to merger of Sterlite Industries, Sterlite Energy, Ekaterina Ltd, Madras Aluminium and Vedanta Aluminium into itself, which had become effective in August last year.

Sesa's total expenditure in Q4, 2013-14 stood at Rs 16,153.46 crore, while it incurred Rs 1,536.72 crore as finance costs.

The company also reported Rs 167.10 crore as an exceptional item as it made Rs 66.84 crore provision for unused assets at the Niyamgiri bauxite mines in Odisha and Rs 100.26 crore payment made last year pursuant to amendment under Land Revenue Code for regulating mining dumps in Goa.

For the full fiscal ended March, 2014, Sesa Sterlite reported consolidated net profit of Rs 6,298.51 crore, while its net sales stood at Rs 65,733.28 crore. The company's total expenditure stood at Rs 53,410.17 crore last fiscal.

In a separate statement, the company said that it reduced its gross debt by Rs 3,400 crore in the last quarter. Besides, its Board has declared a final dividend of Rs 1.75 per share, taking the total dividend for FY 2014 to Rs 3.25 per share.

"The Sesa Sterlite merger was completed last year, we have reconstituted the board, and the merged entity has delivered a strong performance in FY 2014," the company's chairman Navin Agarwal said in the statement.

He added: "We are focused on optimising our assets, growing production with continued cost control, and generating strong cash flows across all businesses. I am confident that Sesa Sterlite will continue to create value for all stakeholders."

As on March 31, 2014, the company had cash and cash equivalents of Rs 50,797 crore, while its gross debt was Rs 80,566 crore.

The Sesa Sterlite scrip closed at Rs 190.40, down 1.37 per cent, on the BSE.