Shares of Vedanta rose 2% to Rs 287.45 on May 30, even after the stock went ex-dividend. Typically, when a stock goes ex-dividend, its price tends to fall. However, this is not the case with Vedanta.

The company’s board last week approved the first interim dividend of Rs 18.50 per share for FY23-24, which shareholders will be entitled to receive in the next few days. The record date for dividend payments is set for May 30, 2023, meaning investors who buy shares from today will not be entitled to the dividend.

The mining giant will pay its shareholders a total of Rs 6,877 crore. The company added in the regulatory filing that the interim dividend will be paid within the stipulated period stipulated by law.

Earlier this month, Vedanta reported a 56.3% year-on-year fall in March quarter profit to Rs 2,634 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 6,027 crore a year earlier.

Net profit attributable to company owners fell more than 67% year-on-year to Rs 1,881 crore.

Revenue also fell 5.4% to Rs 37,225 crore from Rs 39,342 crore in Q4FY22. The company’s EBITDA fell by 33.4% to Rs 8,754 crore on the operational front.

Zinc, lead and silver revenue fell 4% to Rs 8,254 crore. Aluminium revenue fell 19.8% to Rs 12,396 crore, while copper and iron ore divisions posted gains.

Analysts pointed out that the commodity market is facing multiple unfavourable factors such as inflationary pressure, macroeconomic weakness, pressure from the European recession, tight liquidity in some developing countries, sluggish demand recovery in China, and a slowdown in China’s real estate industry. All of this has weighed on Vedanta’s results.

The stock has lost 8.7% over the past year, while the Sensex has gained 12.51%.