Vedanta announces interim dividend of Rs 6,580 cr; re-appoints CEO till Aug

Board also approved K Venkataramanan, former MD of L&T, as independent non-executive director

A week after Hindustan Zinc announced a record dividend of Rs 13,985 crore, another Anil Agarwal group firm Vedanta today announced an interim dividend of Rs 6,580 crore and approved the appointment of K Venkataramanan, former MD of L&T, as independent non-executive director besides re-appointing CEO Thomas Albanese till August 2017 .

The dividend would also be paid to the Cairn India Limited shareholders, who will become shareholders of the company pursuant to the Vedanta and Cairn India merger, on a record date to be fixed after the scheme becomes effective, Vedanta said in a release.

Venkataramanan was CEO & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) from April, 2012 and also served on the L&T Board from May, 1999 until his retirement in September, 2015.

"I am delighted to welcome KV to our Board. His unparalleled strength and global experience in our sector will support our delivery of the next phase of growth at Vedanta, and I look forward to his significant contributions to the board," Navin Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Limited, said.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of Cairn India has approved the re-appointment of Aman Mehta, Dr Omkar Goswami, Naresh Chandra and Edward T Story as independent Directors of the Company with effect from April 1, 2017.

On March, the Board of Directors of Hindustan Zinc declared special one-time interim dividend of 1375% i.e. Rs 27.50 on every equity share of Rs 2, entailing an outflow of Rs 13,985 crore, including dividend distribution tax.

Vedanta reported a 26 per cent rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,319 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2016, on the back of hiked zinc prices and increased metal production. It had posted Rs 1,839.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.