Vedanta Share price in focus today: Vedanta share price cracked another 1.5% in Thursday’s session, July 10, to ₹433.35 apiece, extending its decline for the second straight session. In the previous trading session, the stock witnessed its worst intraday performance in the past three months, skidding 3.5% as investor sentiment turned cautious following a report by U.S.-based short-seller Viceroy Research.
The report alleged that Vedanta’s UK-based parent, Vedanta Resources Limited, is a “parasite” running a “Ponzi scheme” that has pushed the entire group to the brink of bankruptcy.
A day after the report’s release, Vedanta Resources lost the top executive of its base metals business, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported. Chris Griffith, who joined Vedanta Resources in 2023, has left the mining firm in recent days, said the sources, requesting anonymity as the matter is private.
In addition to overseeing key assets such as zinc mines in South Africa and neighboring Namibia, Griffith also served as president of Vedanta’s international business. It was not immediately clear whether the company had appointed a replacement, Bloomberg added.
In its 87-page report released on July 9, Viceroy alleged that Vedanta Resources is systematically draining Vedanta to service its own debt burden. The report claimed that Vedanta Resources is pressuring Vedanta to take on more debt and deplete its cash reserves, thereby weakening Vedanta’s fundamentals, which serve as primary collateral for Vedanta Resources’ creditors, putting those loans at risk.
In response to Viceroy, Vedanta dismissed the report as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and baseless allegations.” The natural-resources conglomerate stated that the timing of the report may be intended to undermine upcoming corporate initiatives, adding that it remains focused on its business operations and long-term growth.
Group chairman Anil Agarwal launched the plan in 2023 to overhaul the business following an unsuccessful attempt to take Vedanta private in 2020. Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL) said in June 2024 that it will seek to cut its debt pile by $3 billion over the next three years.
Vedanta shares remain volatile since Sept 2024
Vedanta shares have been fluctuating widely over the past nine months, ending six out of nine months in the red. After hitting a new all-time high of ₹523.65 apiece in September—breaking its previous record set in April 2010 after 15 years—the stock witnessed profit booking, which eventually turned into a broader sell-off, leading to five consecutive months of losses.
The shares managed to recover some ground in March, finishing the month with a 17% gain, but the rebound was short-lived. Vedanta stock slipped back into negative territory, ending the next two months with losses. At current levels, Vedanta share price is trading 18% below its all-time high, recorded in September.
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