Vedanta Resources' third quarter earnings halved

Vedanta Resources’ third quarter earnings have halved, as earnings from oil and gas have plummeted.

The FTSE 250 miner said on Friday that group EBITDA was down 51% from $1.015bn (£706.7m) to $493.6m.

Earnings from oil and gas were down substantially, dropping from $346m to $95.5 and the division revenue dropping from $565m to $307.8m.

Group revenue dropped from $3.36bn to $2.44bn.

"In the weak commodity price environment, we remain committed to optimising our operations, leveraging our high quality asset base, and proactively managing our balance sheet,” said Vedanta Resources chief executive Tom Albanese.

“I am encouraged to see the positive results of our cost reduction programme gaining momentum, and believe that this relentless focus on efficiency will not only make our business more resilient through the cycle but position us favourably for any future improvement in market conditions.

“Despite challenging market conditions, these efforts have allowed us to generate a robust EBITDA margin of 23%."