Vedanta shares rise 2% even as stock goes ex-dividend

Vedanta’s shares managed to rise by 2 percent to Rs 287.45 on May 30, even after the stock went ex-dividend. Typically, when a stock goes ex-dividend, its price tends to decline. However, this was not the case for Vedanta.

The board of the company approved its first interim dividend of Rs 18.50 per share for financial year 2023-24 last week, which shareholders would be entitled to receive in following days. The record date for the dividend payment was set at May 30, 2023, meaning those investors who buy the stock today onwards will not be entitled for the dividend.

The mining giant will be paying a total Rs 6,877 crore to its shareholders. The interim dividend will be paid within stipulated timelines as prescribed under law, the company added in a regulatory filing.

The financials

Earlier this month, Vedanta reported a 56.3 percent year-on-year decline in profit at Rs 2,634 crore in the March quarter against Rs 6,027 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Net profit attributable to owners of the company fell over 67 percent YoY to Rs 1,881 crore.

Revenue, too, dropped 5.4 percent to Rs 37,225 crore from Rs 39,342 crore in Q4 FY22. On the operating front, the company’s EBITDA decreased 33.4 percent to Rs 8,754 crore.

Revenue from zinc, lead and silver fell 4 percent to Rs 8,254 crore. Aluminium revenue was down 19.8 percent at Rs 12,396 crore, while copper and iron ore segments saw an uptick.

Analyst view

Analysts note that commodities market is facing multiple headwinds such as inflationary pressure, weak macroeconomic scenario, recessionary pressures across Europe, liquidity crunch across some developing countries, muted demand pick-up from China, and slowdown in Chinese real estate sector. All these things are putting pressure on Vedanta’s performance.

The stock is down 8.70 percent in the last one year against a 12.51 percent rise in Sensex.

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