Sesa net at Rs 1.62K cr; hopes to resume mining post monsoon

Vedanta group firm Sesa Sterlite, which today reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1,621.55 crore for the fourth quarter, 2013-14, said it hopes that it would be able to resume iron ore mining operations in Goa after the monsoons.
"What we hope is that the government renew all these leases, (we) secure environmental clearances, so that we restart the operations at the earliest. I would hope to be in a position where resumption of operations can be done post monsoon season," Sesa Sterlite's CEO Tom Albanese told PTI.
He said the company has 28 mining leases in Goa and it has been putting in the applications for securing and renewal of these leases.

The Supreme Court, while lifting the 18-month old mining ban in Goa, had held last week that all mining leases in the state have expired in 2007 and hence, no mining operations can be carried out until renewal/execution of mining lease deeds by the state government. This includes mining leases of Sesa Sterlite as well.
Prior to the mining ban in Goa, Sesa Sterlite's iron ore business used to produce about 15-16 million tonnes in the state and was the largest private sector producer of the vital steel making raw material.
Talking about the results, Albanese said that Sesa Sterlite has posted "strong" results for both, the last quarter and the last fiscal (2013-14), largely due to better operating performance at Cairn India, Hindustan Zinc and Jharsuguda aluminium smelter.

The company has 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 Sesa Goa, which had become effective in August last year. Post merger, the company has been renamed as Sesa Sterlite.

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.
Albanese, who took charge on April 1 as CEO of the Vedanta group as well as Sesa Sterlite, said that the challenge before him is to bring the aluminium and iron ore businesses at par with the more successful subsidiaries Hindustan Zinc and Cairn India.
"For me what will be the key in the coming year and years will be to get the aluminium and iron ore businesses at par with zinc and oil businesses...They should be standing side by side with more successful Cairn and Hindustan Zinc," he said.

When asked about government's plans to divest its remaining stake in Balco and Hindustan Zinc, Albanese said that Vedanta group is working with the government and is waiting for the further details.