Coal India hits 52-week high; here's what's driving the PSU stock

State-run coal mining giant Coal India's shares scaled a 52-week high on Tuesday after the company reported a 5.9 per cent year-on-year increase in supplies to the power sector in the first fortnight of October. The stock gained as much as 0.7 per cent to a fresh 52-week high of Rs 314.35 apiece. 

In a regulatory filing post-market hours on Monday, the state-run dry fuel manufacturer reported supplies to the tune of 23.5 million tonnes (MTs) during the 15-day period, as against 22.2 MTs during the corresponding period a year ago. Total supplies at the coal major came in at 28.6 MTs during the period under review, an increase of 16 per cent on a year-on-year basis.  

“The growth was posted at a time of sudden surge in power demand and even as unseasonal rains hit hard the operations in coal-bearing areas of CIL’s subsidiaries based in the eastern region of the country. Chhattisgarh based SECL also bore the brunt of the inclement weather," the state-run miner said in a press release.

For the financial year 2023-24, the Maharatna company has been given a demand estimate of 610 MT supply to the country’s power sector, which it expects to surpass. 

“On a cumulative basis CIL’s targeted commitment was 316 MTs to the power sector till 15th October FY 2024 against which the company’s supplies were ahead by 3 MTs at 319 MTs,” the company added.

Last week, the shares of Coal India crossed the crucial level of Rs 300 after a gap of five years. 

Coal India shares: Past performance 

Coal India shares have jumped 33 per cent in the last one year, sharply outperforming a 14.3 per cent rise in the headline Nifty index. 

The PSU stock has gained more than 12 per cent in the past one month alone while the blue-chip index has declined 1.7 per cent. 

Brokerage view on Coal India

Domestic brokerage Sharekhan has given a 'buy' call on the CIL counter with a target price of Rs 330, implying a potential upside of around six percent.

In a research report, dated September 22, the brokerage said the company has the potential to sustain its strong earnings growth momentum given its focus on ramping up coal production to 780mt/850mt/1000mt in FY2024E/FY2025E/FY2026E, which implies a production CAGR of 12 per cent over FY2023-FY2026E, improving volume mix with a rising share of non-power sector (NPS) (up 43 per cent on a year-on-year basis in 5MFY24) and benefit of operating leverage.

With a market value of Rs 1.93 lakh crore, Coal India is a largecap entity. The company is engaged in the production and sale of coal and serves varied sectors including power, steel, cement, brick and kilns and fertilisers.