Vedanta Resources, the parent company of natural resources company Vedanta, has paid $400 million in outstanding loan and bond obligations that were due in May and June.
The company has repaid $1.4 billion in the June quarter to bring down its gross debt to $6.4 billion from $7.8 billion of March-end.
Following this, the gross debt has further reduced to $6.4 billion, reflecting a $3.3 billion reduction since Vedanta announced its deleveraging ambition in March last year. Vedanta Resources has a requirement to refinance $4.1 billion of debts due in this fiscal year, and it heavily depends on external fundraising for this purpose, despite receiving strong inflows through dividends from its subsidiaries.
Vedanta aims to further reduce its debt in the current fiscal year and intends to lower gross debt towards zero. This will be aided by expectations of robust demand, particularly in India, coupled with strong operational performance across asset base, said the company.
Vedanta’s gross debt as of today stands at $6.4 billion, down from $6.8 billion as of April-end.
Incidentally, Vedanta Resources had raised $250 million from Glencore International AG, one of the world’s largest natural resource companies on Tuesday. The loan was pledged against a 4.4 per cent stake in Vedanta, the India-listed subsidiary of VRL.
Set up in 1974, the Switzerland-headquartered Glencore is a mining and natural resources rival to billionaire Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group in several geographies. The fund raised was used to repay bonds.
According to the agreement, VRL is required to provide “certain action” on behalf of its subsidiaries, Westglobe, Richter Holding and Finsider International Company as third-party obligors.