DISCLAIMER

Vedanta - HZL H1 FY26 Update

October 17, 2025 – This serves as a quick update from Viceroy ahead of HZL’s earnings call.

HZL’s H1 FY26 results reveal a business that is buckling under its promoter group’s demand for unsustainable dividends. A quick look at the headline numbers shows where the money really went.

  • HZL’s operational FCF failed to cover dividends during the half-year, and the Company borrowed and sold assets to cover the shortfall. We estimate HZL’s operational FCF shortfall in H1 FY26 to be ~ ₹1,300 crore ($150m).
  • HZL has tried to offset brand fee outflows and unaffordable dividends through selling down short-term investments and drawing down more debt. Its net debt has doubled to ₹4,400 crore ($500m) in 6 months.
  • Our FCF assumptions are generous to Vedanta. They do not assume that interest costs will rise q/q, despite net debt has increasing by ~₹2,200 crore ($232m) so far this year.
  • On the Q1 FY26 conference call, CFO Sandeep Modi boasted that HZL was generating ₹10,000 crore ($1.2b) in annualized free cash flow. The H1 FY26 FCF stands at <₹3,000 crore ($341m). This was clearly a lie.
 

Reports & Documents

Be the first to hear about our research & news