Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL), the Anil Agarwal-group company, on Tuesday declared a fourth interim dividend of Rs 26 per share amounting to Rs 10,985.83 crore, a large part of which will go to its parent Vedanta Ltd.

The dividend proceeds from HZL could help Vedanta to bring down its debt. For the quarter that ended December 31, 2022, Vedanta held 64.92 per cent of HZL.

In a regulatory filing after market hours, HZL said its board of directors on Tuesday approved the fourth interim dividend of Rs 26 per share or 1300 per cent on the face value of Rs 2 per share for the current fiscal. The record date for payment of the interim dividend has been set on March 29, 2023.

With the four interim dividends, HZL has paid out Rs 31,852 crore to its shareholders: in January it declared its third payout of Rs 5,493 crore, after paying Rs 6,500 crore in November. In July 2022, the company announced its first interim dividend of Rs 8,873 crore.

Vedanta will receive around Rs 7,132 crore from HZL as an interim dividend in the fourth round, based on its shareholding. The Government of India, which holds 29.54 per cent of HZL, will get around Rs 3,245.21 crore from the latest announcement.

The Centre had opposed Vedanta Ltd’s proposal to sell its international zinc business to HZL for $2.98 billion over concerns of valuation. The Centre also threatened to take legal action to stop the sale of the Africa-based assets to HZL.

While the focus has turned to the debt position in the group, late last month, Vedanta Resources which is the majority owner of Vedanta Ltd said it has enough means to meet its debt repayment liabilities in the coming quarters.

Vedanta Resources announced it is in the advanced stage of finalisation to tie up $1.75 billion through a combination of syndicated loans and bilateral bank facilities.

The company added it has pre-paid all dues till March, deleveraging $2 billion in the past 11 months. It said it was in a position to meet all its liquidity requirements for the quarter that ended June 2023.

Shares of HZL on Tuesday ended flat at Rs 310.45 on the BSE, while Vedanta Ltd settled with gains of 1.29 per cent at Rs 283.60.

Payout

■ Hind Zinc pays fourth interim dividend of Rs 10,985 crore

■ Vedanta Ltd will receive Rs 7,132 cr

■ Moody’s has downgraded ratings of Vedanta Resources, the parent of Vedanta