ICRA upgrades Vedanta's long-term rating to AA on strong credit profile

Credit rating agency ICRA on Wednesday said that it has upgraded Vedanta Ltd's long-term credit rating, reflecting the company's strengthened credit profile.

The long-term credit rating has been upgraded to AA from AA-.

The long-term rating upgrade considers an expected improvement in the company's credit metrics, following the successful fund-raising worth $ 1 billion by the company via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in July and an additional $ 400 million generated from the offer for sale (OFS) of Hindustan Zinc Ltd in August, ICRA said.

This upgrade comes amidst significant developments at Vedanta Group that focuses on long-term strategic growth and financial strength.

Vedanta Ltd has built a war chest exceeding Rs 22,000 crore, comprising mainly of existing cash reserves, stake sale and dividend from its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Ltd.

Vedanta Resources Ltd is also actively pursuing to refinance a substantial portion of its outstanding bonds, aiming to lower the consolidated entity's interest costs further.

All the deleveraging efforts are also expected to improve the overall financial flexibility of the group, ICRA said.