Vedanta top wealth creator with 87% return, Anil Agarwal shares value unlocking update

At Vedanta's 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM), Chairman Anil Agarwal in a letter to shareholders said his company emerged as the top wealth creator among Nifty 100 companies, delivering total shareholder returns of 87 per cent for FY25. Agarwal updated Vedanta shareholders about the restructuring of Vedanta businesses, saying the metals & mining major is also moving forward to unlock maximum value for investors. 

"We are in an advanced stages of restructuring our business by moving to a pure-play model. Our demerger proposal has received support from over 99.5 per cent of shareholders and creditors. This is a vote of confidence like no other. We thank you wholeheartedly for this support," Agarwal said.

Agarwal said the demerger process may get the required approvals shortly. Once implemented, for every share held in Vedanta Ltd, each shareholder will receive one share in each of the four demerged companies, he noted.

Each of these businesses has the potential to grow into a $100 billion enterprise, he said.  "Har ek business ko milega ek naya focus, naye investors, aur apne full potential tak pahunchne ka ek anokha avsar. And through deleveraging - we are creating a robust business model. To sum up, we are proceeding with a 3D strategy - Demerge, Diversify & Deleverage," he said.

Vedanta paid a total dividend of Rs 43.5 per share in FY25, amounting to Rs 17,000 crore. The stock delivered about 70 per cent return in FY25. 

As per data compiled with AceEquity, it declared Rs 29.50 per dividend worth Rs 10,959 crore in FY24. It announced dividends worth Rs 37,572 crore Rs 101.50 per share) in FY23. 

Agarwal said Vedanta is establishing an industrial Zinc Park and an Aluminium Park supporting thousands of upstream & downstream industries. He said Vedanta delivered highest-ever revenue of Rs 1.50 lakh crore and the second-highest Ebitda of more than Rs 40,000 crore in FY25. 

"We have always strived to deliver the best value for our shareholders, and this year, Vedanta Limited emerged as the top wealth creator among NIFTY 100 companies, delivering total shareholder returns of 87%," he said.

Agarwal's letter was uploaded on stock exchanegs on Thursday. The stock was tarding marginally higher at Rs 442.25 on BSE today. 

Ahead of the company's AGM, a report by short-seller Viceroy Research raised several concerns on the parent company Vedanta Resources. It accused Vedanta's parent group of posing "a severe, under-appreciated risk to creditors" and likened its funding model to a "Ponzi scheme." Vedanta called the short-seller's report a malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations to discredit the group. Following this, global brokerage JPMorgan said it stayed comfortable with Vedanta’s leverage position and highlighted the Indian government’s oversight of Hindustan Zinc as a positive factor.

Vedanta (ex-HZL) reported Ebitda of approximately Rs 25,800 crore in FY25, with a net leverage ratio of 2.2x. These numbers suggest no apparent financial stress at Vedanta, JPMorgan said. In comparison, Hindustan reported a net leverage of just 0.1x. With planned capital expenditure, JPMorgan expects HZL’s net leverage to rise to 0.5x