Vedanta's Q1 profit tumbles 23.5% as Covid-19 lockdown hurts output, demand

Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Indian commodities conglomerate Vedanta Ltd. posted a 23.5% drop in quarterly profit as one of the world’s strictest lockdowns hit production and demand.
 

Group net income slumped to Rs 1,033 crore ($141 million) in the three months to June from Rs 1,351 crore a year earlier, the company said in a statement late Saturday. Sales fell 25.9% to Rs 15,687 crore.

Key Insights

Vedanta’s main businesses include zinc, aluminum and oil and gas, all of which have been hit by a slump in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic Agarwal’s London-based Vedanta Resources Ltd. is in the process of taking Mumbai-listed Vedanta private by buying out minority shareholders to simplify his investments.

Vedanta Resources is in talks with banks for a further $600 million to finance the delisting after already securing $3.15 billion in loans and bonds, according to people familiar with the information.

Vedanta had net debt of Rs 24,787 crore at the end of June.

Vedanta’s Hindustan Zinc, also Asia’s most valuable zinc producer, reported a 23% drop in June-quarter profit on lower prices and production.

India’s economy posted its worst slump in the three months ended June as disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak brought Asia’s third-largest economy to a halt. Economists expect growth to shrink in the year through March 2021, in the first such contraction in more than four decades.

Market Reaction

Shares of Vedanta rose 0.4% on Thursday to close at Rs 137.45 in Mumbai. The stock has slid 9.8% this year compared with a 6.2% fall in BSE benchmark index.

Analysts have 11 buy recommendations on the company, 4 holds and 0 sells, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.