Vedanta shares rise 2% after company appoints Ajay Goel as CFO

Shares of Vedanta, India's largest diversified natural resources company, rallied 2% to ₹219.40 per share during Wednesday's early trading session. This rise came after an exchange filing made by the company on Tuesday, announcing the appointment of Ajay Goel as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) of the firm, effective October 30, 2023, replacing Sonal Shrivastava, who resigned from the post of CFO and KMP of the company with effect from the close of business hours on October 24, 2023, due to personal reasons.

Goel left his previous role at Vedanta earlier this year to join the education startup BYJU's. However, he quit six months after joining.

"As part of Vedanta’s structured re-hiring program called ‘Gharwapsi’, Mr Ajay Goel joins back the Company. Ajay was earlier associated with Vedanta as acting CFO & KMP of the Company from October 23, 2021, to April 09, 2023. During his earlier role at Vedanta, Ajay contributed significantly in terms of driving business performance, managing the financial affairs of the company, and heading the finance function with his leadership acumen. He was also instrumental in successfully handling regulatory approvals, investment matters, capital allocation, investor relations, and major M&A-related affairs," the company said in an exchange filing. 

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On October 03, Vedanta released its business update for the September quarter. The company reported a 2% rise in its total aluminium production to 5,94,000 tonnes in the second quarter of FY24. The company’s total aluminium output in the July–September period of the last fiscal year was 5,84,000 tonnes.

The mined metal output at Zinc India was down 1% to 2,52,000 tonnes from over 2,55,000 tonnes in the year-ago period. At Zinc International, Vedanta said its total mined metal output declined by 10% to 66,000 tonnes from 74,000 tonnes, year-on-year (YoY).

The company's overall production during Q2FY24 at 66kt was lower by 10% YoY and 3% QoQ, largely due to lower tonnes treated. Its saleable steel production increased 17% YoY to 3,78,000 tonnes on account of improved operational efficiency and higher production capacity post-debottlenecking carried out in FY23, the company said in a stock exchange filing.

Meanwhile, the company last month announced a complete restructuring that included the demerger of its diversified business into six separate listed companies. These entities include Vedanta Aluminium, Vedanta Oil & Gas, Vedanta Power, Vedanta Steel and Ferrous Materials, Vedanta Base Metals, and Vedanta Limited.

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The de-merger is planned to be a simple vertical split, for every 1 share of Vedanta Limited, the shareholders will additionally receive 1 share of each of the 5 newly listed companies. The entire process is expected to be completed by September FY25.

Global brokerage firm Phillip Capital said that the demerger offers the group increased flexibility, unlocks value for investors by allowing them to select specific commodities for investment, and provides the parent company with the option to liquidate assets partially or fully to manage debt repayments.

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