Hindustan Zinc pays dividend of Rs. 5,059 crore to govt.

Largest integrated producers of zinc-lead with a capacity of 1.0 million MT per annum and a leading producer of silver, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. presented a dividend cheque of Rs. 2,995 crore to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of Steel and Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar.

The dividend was paid by the CEO of Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Sunil Duggal on the account of Government of India's residual stake of 29.54 percent in HZL (an erstwhile central public sector enterprise).

Besides the dividend, Rs. 2064.4 crore is being paid as dividend distribution tax to the govt.

On March 30, the board of directors of HZL had declared a special golden jubilee dividend of 1200 percent i.e. Rs. 24 on an equity share of Rs. two each.

This dividend will entail an outflow of approximately Rs. 12,205 crore, including DDT. This is the largest ever dividend paid by any company in the private sector in Indian history and is the second highest after Coal India.

The special dividend was in addition to the first interim dividend paid (Rs. 3.80 per share or 190 percent) in October 2015 of Rs. 1,932 crore, including DDT.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman Hindustan Zinc, Agnivesh Agarwal said, "At the Golden Jubilee year of the company, we are proud to say that Hindustan Zinc has created enormous value for its shareholders and public at large since its acquisition by Vedanta in 2002 and today, it is one of the largest zinc producing companies in the world."

"The dividend (including DDT) of Rs. 12,205 crore by HZL to its shareholders is the largest dividend in India's private sector ever. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment towards delivering value for our shareholders," added Agnivesh Agarwal.