Why Vedanta shares fell 65% today
Why Vedanta shares fell 65% today
Vedanta's share price witnessed a massive fall of 65% on Thursday. The fall was purely technical and not due to any destruction of investor wealth, as the stock adjusted for its much-awaited demerger.
The company started trading on an ex-demerger basis, meaning the stock price now excludes the value of its four newly carved-out businesses.
Understanding the demerger impact on stock price
The demerger adjustment caused Vedanta's stock price to open at ₹289.5, hitting a day's high of ₹292 and low of ₹271.5.
The decline is a normal adjustment in corporate restructuring, where the parent stock price resets while shareholders get proportional value in separate listed entities.
This means that although the headline price looks significantly lower, the overall investment value remains intact as shareholders will receive shares in the demerged companies.
Special pre-open session conducted to determine equilibrium price
To ensure a fair price adjustment, exchanges conducted a special pre-open session between 9:15am and 9:45am.
This mechanism helps determine the revised equilibrium price post-demerger before regular trading begins.
Normal trading in Vedanta shares commenced from 10:00am following this session.
The Anil Agarwal-led conglomerate is demerging into five separate, publicly traded entities.
Record date set for share allotment in new entities
The restructuring is aimed at improving business focus, enhancing transparency, and unlocking value across verticals.
The company has set May 1 as the record date to determine eligible shareholders for share allotment in the new entities.
Under the approved structure, shareholders will receive shares in the demerged entities in proportion to their existing holdings, ensuring no dilution in ownership.
Vedanta reports record quarterly and annual performance
Vedanta has reported its strongest-ever quarterly and annual financial performance for the period ended March 2026.
The company posted a record profit after tax (PAT) of ₹9,352 crore in Q4FY26, marking a sharp rise of 89% year-on-year (YoY) and 20% sequentially.
Revenue for the quarter also reached an all-time high of ₹51,524 crore, growing 29% YoY and 12% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), supported by higher London Metal Exchange (LME) volumes.
Highest-ever quarterly EBITDA reported
Vedanta also reported its highest-ever quarterly EBITDA of ₹18,447 crore, reflecting a robust increase of 59% YoY and 22% QoQ.
The growth was led by stronger commodity price realizations, higher volumes, and currency tailwinds.
Notably, the EBITDA margin (excluding custom smelting at the copper business) expanded to a record 44%, improving by 915 basis points YoY and 306 basis points sequentially.