CRISIL upgrades outlook on Vedanta's debt to 'positive'

Expects improvement in profitability drives upgrade

Rating agency CRISIL has revised its outlook on debt instruments of Anil-Agarwal controlled Vedanta Ltd to "positive" from "stable" on expected improvement in operating profits in next financial year.

The outlook revision reflects expected strong improvement in EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) in fiscal 2018. The improvement is driven by production ramp-up of zinc, aluminium, and iron ore, and better profitability due to operating leverage, and continued focus on reducing cost of production.

Additionally, better realisations in zinc will partly offset moderation in cash flow in the oil and gas business compared with that before fiscal 2015. Also, favourable