Vedanta Resources plc : HZL announces Q1 FY2014 results

19 July 2013

Vedanta Resources plc
HZL announces results for the First Quarter Ended 30 June 2013

19 July 2013

Hindustan Zinc Limited

Results for the First Quarter Ended 30 June 2013

"Continued profit growth on higher metal production; Mined metal production up 27%"

Highlights for the quarter

·     Mined metal production up 27%

·     Integrated zinc metal production up 10%

·     EBITDA up 6% to Rs 1,506 Crore

Mumbai: Hindustan Zinc Limited ("HZL" or the "Company") today announced its results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2013.

Mr. Agnivesh Agarwal (Chairman, Hindustan Zinc) -"We delivered growth on all fronts in the quarter and are committed to consistently deliver superior performance and maintain our leadership position."

Financial Summary

(In Rs Crore, except as stated)

*financial and production numbers are rounded-off;

(1)  Including Zinc concentrate sale of nil in Q1 FY 2014 as compared to nil in corresponding prior quarter and 61,097 MT MIC in Q4 FY 2013

(2)  Including captive consumption of 1,644 MT in Q1, as compared with 1,641 MT in corresponding prior quarter and 1,777 MT in Q4 FY 2013

(3)  Excluding captive consumption of 8.8 MT in Q1, as compared with 8.6 MT in corresponding prior quarter and 9.2 MT in Q4 FY 2013

Operational Performance

Mined metal production was 237,825 MT in Q1, as compared with 186,642 MT in the corresponding prior period. The increase was in line with our plan to deliver 1.0 million MT mined metal production for the year.

Integrated production of refined zinc was up 10% y-o-y to 173,000 MT in Q1 on higher smelter utilization rate. Integrated production of refined lead was flat at 29,110 MT. Integrated saleable silver production was up 9% to 77 MT in Q1 on higher contribution from Sindesar Khurd and Zawar mines.

Financial Performance

Revenues were up 8% to Rs. 2,939 Crore, comparedwith the corresponding prior quarter. The increase was driven by higher sales volume and rupee depreciation, partially offset by lower metal prices. EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 1,506 Crore, up 6% on higher sales, partially offset by higher operating costs. Net profit for the quarter was up by 5% to Rs. 1,660 Crore.

The zinc metal cost of production before royalty during the quarter was Rs. 46,800 per MT ($836), 2% higher in Rupee and 1% lower in USD terms from a year ago. The increase was primarily due to lower sulphuric acid credits and higher excavation costs, partially offset by lower coal price, lower specific coal consumption and benefits of higher volume.

Liquidity and investment

The Company follows a conservative Investment Policy and invests in high quality debt instruments & debt mutual funds and fixed deposit with banks. As on 30 June 2013, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of Rs. 22,365 Crore, out of which Rs. 14,743 Crore was invested in debt mutual funds, Rs. 2,217 Crore in bonds and Rs 5,398 Crore were in fixed deposits with banks.

For further information, please contact:

About Vedanta Resources plc

Vedanta Resources plc ("Vedanta") is a London listed FTSE-100 diversified global resources major. The group produces Aluminium, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Iron ore, Power, and Oil and Gas. Vedanta has world-class assets in India, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Ireland Liberia, Australia and Sri Lanka and a strong organic growth pipeline of projects. With an empowered talent pool globally, Vedanta places strong emphasis on partnering with all its stakeholders based on the core values of entrepreneurship, excellence, trust, inclusiveness and growth. For more information, please visit:

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "should" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different that those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.