New Delhi, NFAPost: Vedanta Resources, the parent of Vedanta group repaid bonds worth $1.4 billion that were due in May and June to reduce its gross debt to $6.4 billion, the company said in a statement.
London-based Vedanta Resources said it has reduced gross debt by $3.3 billion since it announced a deleveraging target in March 2022.
Vedanta group aims to reduce debt further in Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24) and ultimately have it at zero.
“This will be aided by our expectations of robust demand, particularly in India, coupled with strong operational performance from our world class asset base,” it said.
Vedanta’s gross debt was $7.8 billion at the end of March 2023. It was $9.7 billion at the end of March 2022, the statement said.
The group has raised fresh loans worth $850 million from JP Morgan Chase and Oaktree Capital. It has separately raised $250 million from Glencore. In return, the group has pledged its entire stake in Vedanta Ltd and its subsidiary, Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
Analysts expect the new loans to carry higher interest than costs than Vedanta Resources’ existing bonds.
“We are encouraged by VRL’s willingness to raise adequate funds to avoid a potential debt default. Vedanta Limited’s FY23 earnings were slightly better than we had feared, and FY24 production guidance was robustly higher YoY across most divisions post various debottlenecking and plant capacity expansion works conducted through FY23,” said analysts with CreditSights.
