Lower zinc production and a decline in Zambian copper output weighed on Vedanta Resources Plc’s core quarterly earnings, sending the miner’s shares down more than 3 percent, according to a report by Reuters.
Vedanta, controlled by one-time scrap metal dealer Anil Agarwal, ground out a marginal increase in first-quarter core earnings due largely to its oil and gas, aluminium and non-Zambian copper operations.
But the company’s Zambian copper business, which accounts for about 10 percent of revenue, reported a 43 percent fall in core earnings, which Vedanta attributed to weak prices and lower production in the period.
Vedanta bought a controlling stake in Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) a decade ago. The business, intended to be part of a push beyond the company’s origins in India, has repeatedly disappointed.
Core earnings at Vedanta’s zinc business also fell.
Vedanta said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to $1.04 billion for the quarter ended June 30 from $1.03 billion a year earlier.
Citi analyst Jatinder Goel said EBITDA was 10 percent below his forecast of $1.16 billion.
Other divisions performed better than Zambia. Overall, core earnings at Vedanta’s copper business, which includes assets in India and Australia and was the company’s biggest money earner last year, rose 16 percent to $61.2 million.
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