This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
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Revenue:INR45,899 crores, up 19% year-on-year.
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EBITDA:INR15,171 crores, a 34% increase year-on-year.
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EBITDA Margin:41%, up 629 basis points year-on-year.
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Net Income (PAT):INR7,807 crores, a 60% increase year-on-year.
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Alumina Production:Increased 57% year-on-year to 0.8 million tonnes.
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Aluminum Hot Metal Cost:$1,674 per tonne, lowest in 17 quarters.
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Hindustan Zinc Production Cost:$940 per tonne, 6% better than guidance.
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Iron and Steel Pig Iron Production:680,000 tonnes, an 11% increase year-on-year.
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Oil & Gas Production:85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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Growth CapEx:$1.3 billion invested in the first nine months, on track for $1.7 billion full-year guidance.
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Net Debt:INR60,624 crores with cash and cash equivalents of INR20,085 crores.
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Net Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio:Improved to 1.23 times.
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Cost of Borrowings:Reduced to below 9%.
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Release Date: January 29, 2026
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
Positive Points
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Vedanta Ltd ( BOM:500295 ) achieved its best ever quarterly EBITDA of INR15,171 crores, marking a significant operational milestone.
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The company recorded a lifetime high revenue and PAT of INR45,899 crores and INR7,807 crores, respectively.
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Aluminum business recorded its lowest hot metal cost in 17 quarters at $1,674 per tonne, better than the full year guidance.
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The Power business is on track to outperform annual guidance, with Athena recording a PLF of 72% in quarter three.
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Vedanta Ltd ( BOM:500295 ) received NCLT approval for a significant demerger scheme, targeting April 1 as the effective date.
Negative Points
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Despite operational achievements, the Aluminum business's alumina cost remains higher than market prices, impacting cost efficiency.
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The Oil & Gas segment experienced a decline in production rates, with average gross production at 85,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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The company reported three fatalities in the year, highlighting ongoing safety challenges.
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Zinc International's costs have increased due to waste stripping and unfavorable exchange rates.
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The demerger process requires completion of various conditions precedent and statutory approvals, posing potential delays.
Q & A Highlights
Q: Is it fair to say that all the approvals and name transfers on the assets are in place for the demerger to go through? A: Deshnee Naidoo, CEO of Vedanta Group, explained that with the formal order in hand, the company will start with the various conditions precedent (CPs) and necessary steps to give effect to the corporate restructuring. Ajay Goel, CFO, added that the demerger accounting follows Indian accounting regulations, and they are committed to making April 1 the effective date for the demerger.
Q: What is the mix of captive production versus imports for alumina, given the market price is lower than production costs? A: Anup Agarwal, CFO of Vedanta Aluminium, stated that as they ramp up Lanjigarh, they expect captive production to be 60% in Q3, 70% in Q4, and 80% in the following quarters. The main driver for cost reduction remains the increase in captive production.
Q: What is the expected ramp-up schedule for the BALCO smelter, and what utilization can be achieved in FY27? A: Rajiv Kumar, CEO of the Aluminium Business, mentioned that they are currently at 20 pots in the new 435 kt smelter at BALCO and intend to increase to about 1 lakh tonnes by March end. The rest of the pots will be ramped up over the next three to six months. Deshnee Naidoo added that they aim to reach 2.8 million tonnes of aluminum post-ramp-up and are working on debottlenecking exercises to close the gap to 3 million tonnes.
Q: How do you plan to manage the power capacity in the next few years? A: Rajinder Ahuja, Head of Health, Safety, Environment, and Sustainability, stated that they have commissioned around 1.6 gigawatts of capacity at Athena and Meenakshi, with total capacity expected to reach 4.8 gigawatts by the end of H1 next year. They plan to add an additional 10 to 12 gigawatts over the next five to seven years to meet India's growing thermal power needs.
Q: What is the hedging strategy for aluminum, silver, and zinc for the fourth quarter and FY27? A: Ajay Goel, CFO, explained that hedging is dynamic and real-time. For silver, 10% of the current fiscal and 7% for the next year are hedged at an average rate of $45 per troy ounce. For zinc, 9% of the full fiscal is hedged at $3,000 per tonne. For aluminum, 18% is hedged at an average price of $2,650.
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .
