Vedanta Resources, the Indian mining company floated last month, has said copper and zinc production had increased sharply over the last quarter and commodity prices in India had begun to improve.
The company said that over the past nine months to the end of December, its production of refined copper rose 20 per cent to 137,000 tonnes, while refined zinc increased 11 per cent to 165,000 tonnes. Aluminium production was up 3 per cent.
Analysts also welcomed progress reports on the expansion of the Tuticorin smelter and refinery, which Vedanta said was "in the final stages".
The shares rose 2 1/2 to 383p as John Meyer, mining analyst at Numis, issued a buy note on the stock.
However, he noted that "legal action in India against further government privatisations may impact on Vedanta's potential consolidation of Hindustan Zinc but, in our view, appears, unlikely to be applied retrospectively to businesses previously acquired."
Vedanta's acquisition of a controlling stake in Hindustan Zinc faces a legal challenge in the Supreme Court as part of a wider investigation into the country's privatisations.
