State-run Coal India (CIL) on Tuesday logged a 10.1 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 7,941.40 crore for the quarter ended on June 30 (Q1), dragged by higher expenses, the PTI reported. The coal major had clocked a net profit of Rs 8,834.22 crore in the April-June period of the preceding 2022-23 fiscal, the company said in a regulatory filing.
According to the report, Coal India's total income was at Rs 37,521.03 crore, up 4 per cent from Rs 36,086.68 crore in the year-ago quarter. Expenses surged to Rs 26,785.68 crore from Rs 23,985.31 crore, a rise of 11.67 per cent. However, net profit for Q1FY24 beat analyst estimates. According to an average of the standalone estimates from three brokerage firms, the company was expected to report a net profit of Rs 6,125 crore.
CIL's revenue from operations came in at Rs 35,943.21 crore, rising 2.5 percent percent from Rs 35,092.17 crore in the year-ago quarter, the world's largest coal miner said. Its total expenses in the first quarter increased 11.5 percent to Rs 26,745.68 crore from Rs 23,985.31 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Coal India, under the Ministry of Coal, is a leading producer and supplier of coal in India.
One of the reasons for the increase in expenses has been CIL's decision to increase wages of its non-executive staff. The stock exchange filing on August 8 stated, "The agreement for salary and wages of non executive employees (NCWA -XI) effective from 01.07.2021 has been implemented in June, 2023 and salaries for June 2023 onwards are being paid at the revised rate."
The company said raw coal production was at 175.476 million tonnes during the quarter, up from 159.753 million tonnes in the comparable quarter last year. Off-take of raw coal was at 186.950 million tonnes, compared to 177.490 million tonnes in the year ago quarter.
Coal India's shares closed at Rs 230.25 apiece, down 1.12 per cent, on the BSE on Tuesday.