Metal mogul Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources today said it has reported a steep 75 per cent dip in profit at $219.4 million for the year ended March 31, on account of waning demand and crashing commodity prices amid the global economic downturn.
The company had a profit of $879 million in 2008, Vedanta Resources said in a filing to London Stock Exchange.The company's operating profit in 2009 dipped 57.3 per cent to $1,107 from $2,592.4 in the year-ago period. Its revenue, however, surged 19.8 per cent to $6,578.9 million from $8,203.7 million.
"These are robust results in a challenging environment, which reflect the inherent strengths of Vedanta's business model," Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal said.
The company, he added, is confident of delivering another year of profitable growth and "strong free cash flow" with better volume growth, high quality assets and cost reductions. During the year, the conglomerate, with operations spanned across primarily in India, Zambia, Africa, Australia, reported record production of iron ore, aluminium and zinc.
The company also reviewed its capital expenditure programme to reduce the total spending for its projects by $5.3 billion on account of savings and deferrals.
"These initiates, together with our growth programme, ensure we are also well positioned to deliver superior shareholder returns when commodity prices recover," it said.
