



Vedanta is changing its policy that assured at least 30% profit gets distributed as dividend
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vedanta Ltd is set to overhaul its dividend policy, moving away from a structure that guarantees a fixed minimum payout to a more flexible, board-driven approach, which may impact the sentiments of investors who have long relied on the company’s predictable returns.Earlier, the mining giant was committed to paying at least 30% of profits as dividends, and now the board will have the flexibility to pay 30% or the amount they deem fit, chief financial officer Ajay Goel disclosed the move during a post-earnings call with analysts last week.Speaking on the change, Goel said the company’s dividend framework will transition from a “prescriptive” model to a more “principle-based” one. Vedanta's FY26 dividend payout was the lowest level since FY21.The timing is significant as Vedanta is in the midst of splitting into five separately listed entities, and the demerged entities will have a similar but separate dividend policy.
The company now has the flexibility to pass on dividends received from its subsidiary, Hindustan Zinc, to its own shareholders, Goel told analysts.Earlier, Vedanta, in its dividend policy document, said that it will pass on “the entire dividend income (net of taxes)” it receives from Hindustan Zinc to its shareholders within six months.A Vedanta spokesperson, in an email to Mint, has said that the change ‘is not to be read as a reduction in the dividend payout ratio. The spokesperson said that although dividend payouts were lower in FY26, the company highlighted a Total Shareholder Return (TSR) of 93% in FY26 compared with 16% in the previous year as evidence that capital is being deployed effectively.
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