Vedanta board approves raising of Rs 3,400 cr NCD for refinancing purposes

Vedanta Ltd on Tuesday said its board has approved the raising of Rs 3,400 crore through non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

These would be secured, Unrated, Unlisted, Redeemable, NCDs of face value Rs 1,00,000 each, aggregating up to Rs 3,400 crore in one or more tranches, the company said.

In an earlier communication to the stock exchanges, the company said the issuance of NCDs on a private placement basis was part of its routine refinancing that is undertaken in the ordinary course of business.

In a post-earnings call with analysts in November, Vedanta’s top management had said debt worth Rs 4,200 crore is up for repayment at the Vedanta Ltd level in the current quarter and another Rs 5,500 crore is due in the fourth quarter. The management then also noted, “The company is comfortable with the possibility of refinancing or repaying this debt,” the senior executive said on the call.

On the cash outgo front, Vedanta on Monday said its board of directors has approved a second interim dividend of Rs 11 per share for the financial year 2023-24, amounting to Rs 4,089 crore. The record date for the purpose of payment of the dividend, the company said, shall be December 27.

In an investor presentation uploaded on Tuesday, Vedanta said its consolidated debt stood at $8.95 billion (Rs 74,470 crore) and cash and cash equivalents were at Rs 16,702 crore. Estimated capital expenditure, according to the presentation for FY24, was at $1.7 billion, of which $700 million was spent in the first half.

The company’s parent company, Vedanta Resources, last week, proposed a new liability management exercise for three of its dollar-denominated bonds, totalling $3.8 billion. The proposed exercise entailed meeting these obligations through a mix of cash (upfront payment of $1.25 billion) and new bonds.