Mining major Vedanta (VEDL), a subsidiary of London-headquartered Vedanta Resources (VRL), board has approved an interim dividend of Rupees 11 per share for FY24, amounting to an outgo of Rupees 4,089 crore.
This is the second interim dividend announced by the company for FY24, and comes at a time when VEDL and its parent VRL are seeking to shore up funds to trim debt.
In May, VEDL approved its first interim dividend of Rupees 18.50 per share for FY24, with an outgo of Rupees 6,877 crore. With Monday’s announcement, the total dividend payout for the year rises to Rupees 10,966 crore.
VEDL, in which VRL holds a 68.11% stake, had announced a total dividend payout of Rupees 37,700 crore through five issuances in FY23 alone.
Further, the company has convened a board meeting on Tuesday to raise funds through issuance of non-convertible debentures on a private placement basis. This is part of routine refinancing undertaken in the ordinary course of business, it said.
VEDL shares closed up 1.34% at Rupees 260.60 on the BSE on Monday.
Last week, VRL had sought investors’ approval to extend the maturity date of its $3.15 billion dollar bonds — due in January 2024, August 2024 and March 2025 — by four years. The company, helmed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, also secured a $1.25 billion new funding to repay part of the debt. It also offered to pay $779 million in February for notes due in 2024 and 2025.
After the move, rating agency S&P had downgraded VRL’s long-term issue ratings of bonds to ‘CC’ from ‘CCC’. However, CreditSights recommended bondholders to approve VRL’s plans to extend the maturity date of the bonds, as they are “now more attractive”. But it was cautious about the tight timelines as failure to get approvals could lead to a default.