The government will offload 92.44 lakh shares of Coal India, representing 0.15 per cent equity stake, to eligible employees through an Offer for Sale (OFS), the state-owned coal miner said on Monday. This is the second such move by Coal India this month. According to a statement to the exchanges, “…the Seller is proposing to offer up to 92,44,092 equity shares (representing 0.15 per cent of the total paid up equity share capital of the Company) of face value of Rs 10 each to the eligible employees of the Company at a price of Rs 226.10 per equity share.”
The employee OFS shall remain open from June 21 (10 am) to June 23 (5.30 pm).
Earlier this month, the government mopped up Rs 4,185 crore through a 3 per cent stake sale in Coal India through an OFS. The holding of the government has come down to 63.13 per cent in the coal producer after the OFS. The issue was oversubscribed by both retail and institutional investors.
Coal India reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,527.62 crore for the March quarter of FY23, down 17.7 per cent from a year ago. Consolidated revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 35,161.44 crore, up 17.3 per cent year on year.
During the quarter, the gains from rising coal prices under the fuel supply agreement (FSA), up 5 percent YoY to Rs 1,550 per tonne, amid better product mix and increased share of the non-power sector, was offset by one-off higher provisioning of employee cost, Nuvama Institutional Equities said.
Coal India is the largest supplier of thermal coal to power sectors, with 75-80 per cent of fuel requirements being met by the coal major.
Demand for coal is seen rising on the back of enhanced power demand for rural electrification. Shares of Coal India have gained just 1.20 per cent this year, though the 1-year return stands at nearly 29 per cent.