The Investors’ Chronicle (UK) reports that results for Vedanta Resources’ full year to March 2009 revealed good financial health in spite of the commodity market collapse. Plunging metals prices meant a $1.4bn (£929m) drop in earnings, but “Vedanta’s knack for tight cost management led to a $621m improvement in working capital, largely delivered in the second half of the year. That meant that free cashflow as a share of cash earnings jumped from 74 per cent to 106 per cent, coming in at $1.7bn.” The Investors’ Chronicle also notes that the company has “raised an additional $3.7 billion of long-term non-recourse project financing to enable continued investment in its portfolio of projects, in particular expansion of its aluminium and power projects.” Bad news for, among others, the Kondh people of Orissa.
http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/Companies/ByEvent/Results/Analysis/article/20090508/cbb51c58-3b17-11de-8b07-0015171400aa/Vedanta-pushing-ahead.jsp