Sesa Goa has rallied 8% to Rs 215 on reporting higher than expected volumes and price realizations during the quarter ended December.

Sales of iron ore rose by 5.4% on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to 5.04 million tonnes (mt). Sales from Goa increased by as much as 17.7% y-o-y basis to 4.4 mt, while sales from Karnataka, in the electronic auctions conducted by the Supreme Court, were flat at 0.64 mt. The average price realizations rose by as much as 24% compared with the September quarter to Rs 4,743 per tonne during the recently concluded quarter. Most analysts were expecting a drop in volumes owing to a mining ban in Karnataka and transportation issues in Goa, its main production hub.

Meanwhile, the Vedanta Group company reported a 35% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in net profit at Rs 692 crore for the quarter ended December, on sharp increase in operating cost and export duty. Total income was up 16% at Rs 2,617 crore on y-o-y basis.

The company has declared an interim dividend of Rs 2 a share to be paid on February 23, it said.

A combined around 600,000 shares have changed hands on the counter so far on the NSE and BSE.