Vedanta reports 'strong' second quarter in zinc, copper and aluminium

Vedanta Resources posted its second quarter and half year production results for the period to 30 September on Tuesday, claiming strong numbers in its zinc, copper and aluminium assets.

The FTSE 250 company said that at Zinc India, refined zinc-lead metal production stood at 230 kt, up 27% year-on-year, while a record refined silver production came in at 4.5mn ounces, up 31% year-on-year.

Its Zinc International business had the highest quarterly production of 20 kt at Black Mountain in the last four years, the board claimed.

In oil and gas, Vedants commenced a 15-well infill drilling campaign at Mangala, with the first well brought online.

Its aluminium division reported record quarterly aluminium production, as its smelters continued their ramp-up, with a current run-rate of 1.6 mtpa excluding trial run production.

At Copper India, the company claimed record quarterly copper cathode production, and at Copper Zambia, it said mined metal production was up 21% quarter-on-quarter, with continued production improvements at Konkola Underground, Tailings Leach Plant and Nchanga open pit.

In iron ore, Vedanta said it produced 1.9mt at Karnataka in the first half, adding that it expected to achieve full allocation production during the third quarter.

And at Talwandi Sabo Power, Vedanta said there was now a “high plant availability” of 87%, following the shutdown in the first quarter.

On the corporate front, Vedanta said a “proactive refinancing” of $1.84bn was completed at in the period through a combination of bond and bank debt.

The refinancing extended the company’s average debt maturity by 1.5 years, lowered the average cost of borrowing and resulted in “no significant” debt maturities until December 2018

“I feel privileged to take on the helm of a business with tier 1 assets and I am very excited to be here,” said Vedanta interim chief executive Kuldip Kaura.

“During the quarter, our Zinc, Copper India and Aluminium businesses have delivered a strong production performance.”

Kaura noted the company had also commenced its “growth journey” on both the exploration and development front in its oil and gas business.

“We are continuing to realise operational efficiencies across our diversified portfolio and to benefit from a supportive market environment.”