Today, Vedanta Ltd will pay Rs 117.1 billion in dividends to its shareholders as its profit quarter falls for the first time in six quarters. Vedanta will pay a dividend of 31.50 rupees a share to investors. Meanwhile, group net income dropped nearly 10 per cent from a year earlier to 58 billion rupees in the January to March period, billionaire Anil Agarwal’s company said.

That would be the first YOY decline in earnings since the quarter ended in September 2020. It also missed analysts’ estimate of 62.4 billion rupees. Sales advanced 41 per cent to 393.4 billion rupees, while expenses rose nearly 33 per cent, with material and power costs rising more than 50 per cent YOY.

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Industries across the world have been grappling with higher energy and commodity costs that have been exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine as supply chains get upended. Locally, Indian mills are finding it difficult to secure thermal coal supplies, especially aluminum producers, as the government diverts the fuel to the power sector.

Vedanta’s aluminium output rose 8 per cent from a year earlier during the quarter, and steel output increased by 3 per cent, while oil and gas production fell 7 per cent and power sales declined 16 per cent. Unit Hindustan Zinc Ltd. last week reported an 18 per cent year-on-year growth in quarterly profit but missed estimates.