Vedanta shares to become ex-dividend today

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Vedanta shares to become ex-dividend today

Vedanta's shares will become ex-dividend on Tuesday, a company spokesman said. The Anil Agarwal company has announced an interim dividend of Rs 18,50 per share for the quarter of fiscal 2016 of Rs 6877 crore. Tuesday will also be the record date for the dividend and that the board of directors of Vedanta will determine the name of the eligible shareholders for the dividend. All eligible shareholders with their names included in the list at the end of the record date will be eligible to receive a dividend. The dividend payment will be made on June 21.

Vedanta paid 45 per share dividend in FY22, amounting to Rs 16,689 crore, according to data available with AceEquity. In FY21, the company paid a salary of 3,519 crore Rs 9.50 per share and in FY20 Rs 1,444 crore Rs 3.90 per share dividend. AceEquity, which has been a regular dividend payer since 1994, has been a regular provider of capital to investors, the company said in a statement. Analysts largely expect the dividend for FY 24 to be in Rs 45-80 per share range, owing to parent Vedanta Resources' debt obligations. The company reported a dividend of Rs 33 per share in the March quarter and a total dividend of Rs 101.50 per share for the period from March to September, amounting to Rs 37,730 crore.

For FY24, Vedanta did not provide any guidance on dividend payment, Motilal Oswal Securities said on a recent note. The company's net debt was up 115 per cent on the back of dividends and a surge in capex due to higher dividends. On the Vedanta stock, this brokerage has a target of Rs 280.

Systematix Institutional Equities said the dividend would remain elevated at 60 - 80 per share over FY 24 and FY25, driven by a sharp reduction in energy costs, especially for coal, implying a yield of 22 - 29 per cent providing strong upside support.

Vedanta may continue paying high dividend in FY 24 E and FY 25 E, said Nuvama Institutional Equities. This brokerage had factored in dividend per share of Rs 45 each for FY 24 E and FY 25 E. The brokerage is awaiting final approval from lenders to shift Rs12,590 crore from general reserve to retained earnings, which will help in dividend payment.

Kotak said higher dividends would be unsustainable and did not have to be a sustainable measure. The firm said that an increase in net debt has been led by high dividends Rs 101.50 per share paid out in FY 2023, and an expected stand-alone net debt Ebitda increasing to 4.2 times in FY 2023.