Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Ltd reported a consolidated loss before tax at Rs 15,269 crore for the March quarter (Q4FY20) as against a profit before tax of Rs 4,104 crore in the same period last year on impairment charges taken largely on assets of oil & gas business.

The exceptional item for Q4FY20 was at Rs 17,132 crore, primarily due to impairment of assets at oil & gas, copper and iron ore business, said the company in its release.Exceptional loss for FY20 stood at Rs 17,386 crore, mainly due to impairment of assets at oil & gas, triggered majorly due to significant fall in crude oil prices that was followed by the Covid-19 outbreak, it said.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the world and us in the last quarter of the year. We have taken a pro-active approach to keep our assets and people safe while ensuring optimum operations during these difficult times," the release quoted Sunil Duggal, chief executive officer at Vedanta as saying.

The company’s consolidated revenue for the March quarter declined 16 per cent to Rs 19,513 crore from same period last year on the back of lower commodity prices further impacted by Covid-19, weak volumes at zinc, oil & gas, steel businesses and lower power sales at Talwandi Sabo Power Project (TSPL).

This, however, were partially offset by higher volume at aluminium and iron ore businesses, and rupee depreciation. The company’s bottomline on the other hand got some cushioning after net deferred tax of Rs 3,186 crore lent some support, bringing the net loss to Rs 12,521 crore in the quarter gone by.

Vedanta had reported a net profit of Rs 2,236 crore in the same period last year.

The normalised effective tax rate (ETR) for FY20 stood at 34 per cent compared to 28 per cent in FY19 due to a change in profit mix amongst businesses.

The group re-measured its deferred tax balances leading to a deferred tax credit of Rs 1,774 crore being recognized during the year. This, however, offset tax on dividend from a subsidiary at Rs 1,701 crore.

Meanwhile, the deferred tax benefit of Rs 6,521 crore primarily includes tax credit on impairment recognised during the year, said the company. In the period under review, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at Rs 4,844 crore, down 23 per cent from same period last year, while EBITDA margin contracted to 28 per cent from 31 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

As on March 31, 2020, Vedanta's gross debt stood at Rs 59,187 crore, down Rs 7,038 crore from same period last year. On May 12, 2020, the promoter expressed the intention to voluntarily delist the equity shares in accordance with delisting regulations and highlighted an Indicative Offer Price of Rs 87.5 per share. In the following week, the board of directors of company approved the proposal.