Vedanta Ltd.'s profit for the December-ended quarter fell as its copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, remained shut in the third quarter.
Net profit of the miner fell 21 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,574 crore in the December-ended quarter, according to its exchange filing. The profit, however, beat analyst estimates of Rs 1,437 crore.
The company's copper production declined 77 percent to 23,000 tonnes after its smelter was ordered shut by the Tamil Nadu government after 13 people died in police firing during protests over pollution concerns. The closure was then overturned by the National Green Tribunal.
The company's net sales fell nearly 3 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 23,669 crore against the estimated Rs 22,348 crore.
Earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation decreased 11 percent to Rs 5,953 crore, meeting the Rs 5,822-crore estimate. Operating margin contracted 600 basis points over the last year to 29 percent, with the Bloomberg estimate being 26 percent.
Vedanta Resources Chairman Anil Agarwal told BloombergQuint that around 200 industries like fertilisers, sulphuric acid manufacturers were suffering because Sterlite was their sole supplier of copper.
Shares of Vedanta closed 1.8 percent higher at Rs 197.50 apiece ahead of the earnings announcement.
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