Coal India production rises 12.6% in September; share declines

Coal India share price NSE: Coal India Ltd NSE: Coal India shares were in focus on Tuesday, October 3, after PSU reported a 12.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in coal production to 51.4 million tonnes (MT) last month. The supply of coal to the power sector by state-owned Coal India increased 3.4 per cent to 294.8 million tonnes in the first six months of the current fiscal, even as demand for electricity touched record highs in the past two months, the Maharatna firm said on Monday. The counter reeled under pressure and finished at 3.45 per cent lower at Rs 291.75 on NSE. 

The total amount of coal supplied was 1.8 MT more than the 293 MT demand projected for this period, Coal India (CIL) said in a statement. "Compared to the high base of the same period last fiscal, the volume increase was 9.7 MT, or 3.4 per cent. This could have been higher if the logistics were eased out and intake not regulated by a few consumers," CIL said in a statement. "We were given a supply target of 610 MT to the power sector for FY24. This is about 4 per cent higher than the record 586.6 MT supplied in FY23. We met the prorated demand of coal-fired plants till September-end and expect to meet the annual demand as well," a senior CIL official said.

Here's how the counter traded on Tuesday: 

Source: NSE

Coal is the largest source of electricity in the country, and CIL produces over 80 per cent of coal in India. CIL's total supplies shot up to 360.7 MT during the April–September period, up from 332 MT in the year-ago period. Coal supplies by CIL to the non-power sector during the first six months of FY24 peaked at 65.7 MT, registering a growth of 40 per cent. As of September, the coal stock at CIL's pitheads was 41.6 MT.

Coal India share price target: Citi maintains a neutral stance

Global brokerage Citi has maintained a neutral call on Coal India with a target price of Rs 260.

Catch latest stock market updates here. For all other news related to business, politics, tech, sports and auto, visit Zeebiz.com.