Zinc, aluminium boost Vedanta's Q1 numbers

Capacity expansion, firm pricing outlook to drive growth despite rising fuel costs

Mining conglomerate Vedanta’s June quarter (Q1) performance was largely driven by a strong show of the zinc and aluminium segments.

Higher zinc-lead and silver volumes at Hindustan Zinc (production up 84 per cent year-on-year) and rising aluminium output (run-rate of 1.4 million tonnes per annum or mtpa), led by capacity expansions, drove up revenues. At Rs 18,203 crore, sales grew 27 per cent year-on-year, meeting the Bloomberg’s consensus estimates of Rs18,237 crore.

However, sequentially, the performance was expected to be soft due to a correction in base metal prices, sequential decline in volumes at Zinc India (according to mine plan), lower copper