Vedanta Will Have $2 Billion Of Free Cash Flow For Dividend Payments In FY25, Says CFO

Indian multinational mining company Vedanta Ltd. will have $2 billion, or around Rs 16,700 crore, of free cash flow available for dividend payments in financial year 2025, according to Chief Financial Officer Ajay Goel.

The company is targeting $6 billion in Ebitda for the current fiscal, which will lead to a free cash flow generation of $4 billion before capital expenditures, Goel told NDTV Profit. In the first quarter alone, the company generated pre-capex free cash flow of Rs 4,371 crore, or $533.9 million.

Management later explained how Vedanta's capex guidance for fiscal 2025 stands at $1.9 billion. Goel stated that Vedanta could have $2 billion in free cash flow after subtracting the entire capex amount from the pre-capex free cash flow generation target, which it could use for dividend payments if necessary.

As of the first quarter ended June 2024, 56.38% of Vedanta's total shareholding was owned by promoters and promoter groups, while 43.45% and 0.17% of the stake were held by public shareholders and the company's employee trust, respectively.

If the company does decide to use the entire $2 billion for dividend payments, public shareholders could receive over Rs 7,200 crore of the company's cash outflows as dividends.