Vedanta core earnings down 14% at $2.21 bn

London-listed Mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources Plc's core earnings were down along with revenue for the first half of the year.

The London-listed miner reported core earnings or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) that were down 14 per cent to $2.21 billion from $2.57 billion a year earlier.

Revenue was down 17 per cent to $6.16 billion for the six months ended 30 September.

Core earnings at the mining and oil and gas conglomerate declined while revenue for the first half of the year was dragged by weak metal and oil prices.

According to the London-listed miner, lower average prices across all commodities hit operating profit by $225 million.

Operational results were more upbeat with record oil and gas production at Cairn India and higher output of refined zinc, lead and silver at Zinc India.

According to Vedanta, it expected to restart mining in Karnataka soon. The company had suffered due to the ban on iron ore mining in Karnataka and the western Indian state of Goa over the last few quarters.

The company received clearance from India's top court in September to resume mining in the state.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court maintained a 14-month ban on iron ore mining in Goa over environmental concerns even as it allowed the sale of over 11MT of material that sat in stockpiles.

The company said it hiked its interim dividend 5 per cent on the year to $0.22 a share.

Vedanta's net profit attributable to shareholders for the first six months of the year ended 30 September took a hit of $217 million, as against a profit of $174 million in the same period a year earlier, partly due to a $122 million increase in net interest expenses during the period and $429 million in mark-to-market foreign exchange losses amid a 15-per cent depreciation in the Indian rupee against the dollar.

According to Vedanta, it expected to secure the final clearances to resume mining in Karnataka shortly and, although it was not able set a timeline for the restarting iron ore production in Goa, it now saw a path for the Goan iron ore ban to be lifted after the Indian Supreme Court granted permission for 11 MT of iron ore in inventory to be sold from Goa.