Having been a witness to a commodity boom and then a depressed global market, Anil Agarwal-led Sterlite Industries has failed to use about 60 per cent of Rs 10,000 crore worth capital raised from its shareholders since 2004.
Going by the latest financial position as on December 31, 2008, NRI billionaire-led firm has utilised just about Rs 4,000 crore of the funds raised from a public offer in the US in 2007 and a rights issue in India more than four years ago.
The rest amount has been put into mutual funds and bank fixed deposits by the company, whose profits during the quarter ended December 31 fell by about 38 per cent to Rs 732 crore, according to its regulatory filings.
Besides, the company has also put nearly three-fourths of its cash reserves into the debt mutual funds, possibly for higher returns than what it could have got by pumping it in the existing or new businesses.
While giving details of its cash reserves, Sterlite Industries said in its regulatory filings, "Consolidated cash and cash equivalents on December 2008 was Rs 19,034 crore. This includes Rs 14,300 crore in debt mutual funds and Rs 4,657 crore in fixed deposits with banks."
Besides, the company said it has utilised less than half of the capital raised through its public offer of shares in the US in the previous fiscal (2007-08) as also the proceeds of a rights issue way back in 2004, and the unutilised funds are parked in debt mutual funds and bank deposits.
"Out of the total ADS (American Depositary Shares) proceeds of Rs 8,050.93 crore, so far the company has utilisd Rs 3,081 crore," Sterlite said.