Vedanta Shares are Up 2% After The Firm Named Ajay Goel as CFO

The company’s entire output for Q2FY24 was 66 kt, down 10% YoY and 3% QoQ, owing mostly to decreased tonnes processed.

Vedanta, India’s largest diversified natural resources business, rose 2% to 219.40 per share in early trade on Wednesday. This increase followed the company’s exchange filing on Tuesday, which announced the appointment of Ajay Goel as the firm’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP), effective October 30, 2023, replacing Sonal Shrivastava, who resigned from the post of CFO and KMP with effect from the close of business hours on October 24, 2023, due to personal reasons.

Goel quit his prior position at Vedanta earlier this year to join BYJU’s education venture. He did, however, leave six months after starting.

“Mr Ajay Goel rejoins Vedanta as part of the ‘Gharwapsi’ structured re-hiring program.” Ajay formerly worked for Vedanta as the company’s interim CFO and KMP from October 23, 2021 until April 9, 2023. With his previous work at Vedanta, Ajay contributed considerably in terms of driving commercial success, managing the company’s financial affairs, and leading the finance unit. He was also essential in the effective management of regulatory clearances, investment matters, capital allocation, investor relations, and key M&A-related affairs, according to the business in an exchange filing. 

Vedanta provided their business report for the September quarter on October 3. In the second quarter of FY24, the firm recorded a 2% increase in total aluminum output to 5,94,000 tons. The overall aluminum output of the corporation during the July-September quarter of the previous fiscal year was 5,84,000 tons.

Zinc India’s mined metal output fell 1% to 2,52,000 tonnes, down from approximately 2,55,000 tonnes the previous year. Vedanta announced at Zinc International that its total mined metal output fell 10% year on year (YoY) to 66,000 tonnes from 74,000 tonnes.

The company’s overall output for Q2FY24 was 66kt, down 10% year on year and 3% quarter on quarter, owing mostly to decreased tonnes processed. According to a stock market filing, the company’s saleable steel output grew 17% year on year to 3,78,000 tonnes due to enhanced operational efficiency and larger production capacity following debottlenecking in FY23.

Meanwhile, the corporation announced a thorough restructure last month, including the demerger of its diverse operations into six independent publicly traded entities. Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals, and Vedanta Limited are among these companies.

The de-merger is scheduled to be a straightforward vertical split, with shareholders receiving 1 share of each of the 5 newly listed entities for every 1 share of Vedanta Limited. The full procedure is projected to be finished by September of FY25.

According to global brokerage firm Phillip Capital, the demerger provides the group with increased flexibility, unlocks value for investors by allowing them to select specific commodities for investment, and gives the parent company the option to partially or fully liquidate assets to manage debt repayments.