The company, a subsidiary of billionaire Anil Agarwal’s metals and oil conglomerate Vedanta Resources, has fixed July 27 as the record date for the second interim dividend, it said in a regulatory update.

Metals and mining company Vedanta on Tuesday said its board has approved an interim dividend payment of Rs 19.5 per share to shareholders, amounting to Rs 7,250 crore. This is the second interim dividend by the company in FY23 and amounts to a total payout of Rs 18,958 crore.

The company, a subsidiary of billionaire Anil Agarwal’s metals and oil conglomerate Vedanta Resources, has fixed July 27 as the record date for the second interim dividend, it said in a regulatory update.

On April 6, Vedanta had approved an interim dividend of Rs 11,709 crore, according to stock exchange data. The company, in its annual report for FY22, had said it will distribute a minimum 30% of its attributable net profit as dividends, subject to various factors including cash flows, economic situation and commodity price cycles, among others.’

London-based Vedanta Resources owns a nearly 70% stake in the Indian firm, and the dividend is key for its parent, which has seen its bond prices take a hit due to the pandemic and rising commodity prices, among other factors.

Vedanta paid dividends worth $1.5 billion to Vedanta Resources in FY22, with an additional $932 million in April, according to Bloomberg data.

On July 13, Hindustan Zinc, another subsidiary of Vedanta, announced an interim dividend of Rs 21 per share, taking the total outflow to Rs 8,873 crore. The record date for payment of the dividend was fixed as July 21. Vedanta owns a 64.9% stake in the company and government of India holds a 29.5% stake.