On Wednesday, August 28, Vedanta Ltd. made public that the board of directors will convene the following week to deliberate and authorise the third interim dividend for the current fiscal year (2024–25). September 2 is the day of the board meeting, and September 10, 2024, is the fixed record date for the dividend.
“…the meeting of the board of directors of the company is proposed to be scheduled on Monday to consider and approve the third interim dividend on equity shares, if any, for the financial year 2024-25,” said the Anil-Agarwal-led metals-to-mining conglomerate in a regulatory filing to the BSE.
‘’…the record date to determine the entitlement of the equity shareholders for the said dividend, if declared, is being fixed as Tuesday, September 10, 2024,” added Vedanta in its statement today.
Vedanta dividend history
In July, Vedanta Ltd. decided to approve a ₹4 per share second interim dividend for the current fiscal year. Vedanta Ltd. authorised its first interim dividend of ₹11 per share in May as well. The first interim dividend was recorded on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
In FY23 and FY24, Vedanta Ltd. paid out dividends of about ₹101.4 per share and ₹29.5 per share, respectively, providing investors and the company’s parent, Vedanta Resources, which owns more than 56% of the shares, with substantial dividend yields.
To pursue additional deleveraging and expansion, the mining giant raised over ₹30,000 crore using a variety of mechanisms, including a qualified institutional placement (QIP), offer for sale (OFS), and dividend.
After the conglomerate receives all of the money, proceeds from Vedanta Ltd’s ₹8,500-crore QIP, Hindustan Zinc’s OFS of ₹3,200 crore, and ₹5,100 crore from the second interim dividend, along with the current cash reserves of ₹13,000 crore, will establish a reserve of ₹30,000-crore.
“Disciplined growth. Operational excellence. Exploring opportunities along the value chain. And an unwavering commitment to sustainability,” Navin Agarwal, vice-chairman of Vedanta, wrote in a post on X.
Cost-cutting measures during the April–June quarter enabled the business to record a 54% year-over-year increase in its consolidated net profit, coming in at ₹5,095 crore. During this time, the total revenue increased by 6% to ₹35,239 crore. As of June 30, the company’s net debt increased to ₹61,324 crore from ₹56,338 crore at the end of March. The net debt to EBITDA ratio, at 1.5 times annualised, did not change, nevertheless.
“Our aluminium and zinc divisions continue to outperform industry benchmarks, consistently ranking in the top quartiles and deciles of the global cost curve. These achievements are a direct result of our strategic focus on cost, as reflected in a 20 per cent year-over-year reduction in overall Cost,” said Arun Misra, Executive Director, Vedanta Ltd.
