From correspondents in London, England, 10:00 PM IST

Mining giant Vedanta Resources announced cuts in planned spending after posting a 24.7 percent first-half drop in profits Thursday.

The India-focused company said profits for the period ended Sep 30 fell to $350 million from $465 million in H1 07, while EBIDTA fell 6.8 percent to $1.272 billion.

'In these challenging and uncertain markets, the group has produced a strong performance and we continue to make progress on our key strategic priorities,' Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal said.

'The core strengths of the group - our strong cash flows, low cost of operations and the ability to deliver new capacity at industry benchmark low costs - position us well for a period of low metal prices.'

'We have a strong balance sheet with cash and liquid investments totalling $5.4 billion and no significant near-term debt redemption obligations. We will continue to rigorously pursue operational excellence, preserving and strengthening our cost positions as we pursue profitable growth,' he added.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)