Vedanta 1Q Aluminum, Iron Output Up; Ebitda Falls Short

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31 Jul 2010

London-listed miner Vedanta Resources PLC Friday reported increased production of aluminum and iron ore in its fiscal first quarter, but said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, fell short of expectations.

Vedanta reported Ebitda of $794 million, below consensus expectations of $826 million.
Analysts said earnings may have been hit by rising production costs, as output was largely in line with expectations and metals prices during the period were higher on-year.
UBS analyst Fawzi Hanano said growth in the aluminum division also fell short. "(The result) was quite in line with expectations," Hanano said. "There was slightly lower output than expected in aluminum."
27.9% on the year to 55,000 metric tons. Integrated output there fell 11% to 34,000 tons, but mined metal output rose by 26% to 24,000 tons.
Copper cathode output at its Tuticorin smelter was 77,000 tons, down 1.3% on the year, while mined copper output at its Australian operations was flat at 7,000 tons.
Aluminum output increased by 13% on the year to 141,000 tons. The company's Jharsuguda smelter finished commissioning during the quarter and contributed to the increase, though its output was affected by a power failure.
Alumina output at the Lanjigarh refinery rose 8.5% to 204,000 tons.
The company said that refined zinc output increased by 18.7% on the year to 165,000 tons, while mined metal output was 0.5% higher at 182,000 tons. Its refined lead output declined by 16.7% on the year to 15,000 tons.
Production and sales of iron ore rose 30.6% and 15% on the year to 6.4 million tons and 5.4 million tons respectively.
The company sold 1,156 million units of power, up 98% on the year.
Vedanta's shares at 0708 GMT were up 5p, or 0.2%, at 2,484p.

Source: Dow Jones