Metal prices boost earnings at Vedanta
INDIA-FOCUSED miner Vedanta Resources posted a 29 per cent jump in full-year earnings per share yesterday, on the back of strong metal prices and a background of robust demand for commodities.
Vedanta, founded in 1976 by executive chairman Anil Agarwal (pictured), said yesterday its basic earnings per share came in at $2.83 (£1.72).
The group posted a 28 per cent rise in attributable profit to £771m, on the back of a 44 per cent rise in revenues.
Vedanta’s earnings currently depend largely on iron ore, copper and zinc, but the group has pursued a strategy of diversification and could get as much as a quarter of its profits from oil and gas in three years, if it succeeds in its bid to take control of Cairn India. Vedanta gave no update on its bid to take control of Cairn India.
Vedanta has been caught up in a dispute over royalty payments, and the two sides have been waiting for government approval for almost nine months.