Vedanta Resources Ltd chairman Anil Agarwal on Wednesday addressed shareholders at the company’s 57th Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Speaking at the event, Agarwal said, “At Vedanta, we have invested around $ 35 billion in India over the years and have contributed more than ₹ 2.65 lakh crore to the national exchequer in the past seven years, which is among the highest contributions by an Indian corporate.”
Agarwal said that financial year (FY) 22 had been the best year for Vedanta as the company clocked a record revenue of ₹ 131,192 crore and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of ₹ 45,319 crore, which was up 66 per cent year on year and contributed more than ₹ 54,000 crore to the government exchequer.
“Our strong cash flows put the company in a great position for growth. We have put in place a robust capital allocation strategy that aims at deleveraging our Balance Sheet,” he further told shareholders.
Giving details about the company’s growth plans,Agarwal said that for FY 23, Vedanta planned around $ 2 billion Capex investment in zinc, oil and gas and aluminium.
“I am excited about our acquisition of Nicomet which makes us the sole producer of nickel in India, a metal which is in high demand for electric vehicles and batteries,” he said.
Vedanta is also making a foray into the strategic area of manufacturing semiconductor fab and display fab, Agarwal said, adding the company has already signed an MoU with Foxconn, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers, to set up an integrated semiconductor manufacturing facility in India.
“The natural resource sector will play a pivotal role in India’s growth and employment story as the nation strives to become Aatmanirbhar. Even small policy reforms can unleash the true potential of this sector,” Agarwal said.
He said the Indian economy is doing better than most countries at a time when the global economy is disrupted due to Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war.
On the subject of social and community development, Agarwal said Vedanta is committed to continuing working towards improving the quality of life of communities. “During the year, we were able to touch the lives of around 46 lakh people across India and have spent around ₹400 crore on various high impact social projects,” he added.
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