Vedanta prudent in raising capital, says CFO Sonal Shrivastava

Mumbai: Vedanta Ltd is a company that strives for rapid growth and ensures vital supplies for India’s growth.

Commenting on company’s portfolio and future plan for raising capital, Vedanta’s CFO Sonal Shrivastava on Monday said, “Our diversified portfolio across Zinc, Silver, Lead, Aluminium, Iron & Steel, Copper, Oil & Gas and Glass substrate built in just over two and a half decades is evidence of our ambition and success.”

“Growth requires capital and we are in a highly capital-intensive industry. We are prudent in raising capital. The company’s net debt as on date is $7.2 billion (Rs 59,192 crore) with an average interest rate of 8.7 per cent. The Debt / EBITDA ratio stands at 1.88x, which is one of the best among our peer group and we are fully committed to reduce it further as our high-quality assets continue to generate very healthy cash flows,” she further commented.

Vedanta’s record production levels helped it deliver an EBITDA of $4.4 billion (Rs 35,241 crore) and free cash flow (pre capex) of $3.5 billion (Rs 28,068 crore) in FY23.

“As the global commodities market are recovering, we expect our top line and margins to improve further. Vedanta is focused on continuing rapid growth in the diversified portfolio, strengthening its balance sheet and confident of meeting all its upcoming maturities of $2.7 billion(Rs 22,000 crore) in FY24,” Shrivastava said.