New Delhi: Coal India Ltd reported a 17.3 per cent fall in fourth-quarter profit on Sunday, as the world’s largest coal miner made higher provisions for wage hikes.
Consolidated net profit fell to 55.33 billion Indian rupees (USD 677.07 million) in the three-months ending March 31, compared with 66.93 billion rupees a year earlier, the state-run company said in an exchange filing.
Net sales rose 17.3 per cent to 351.61 billion rupees.
The company said its provisions for a wage hike stood at 58.70 billion rupees, adding that it would have had its highest ever quarterly profit had the provision not been made.
India, the world’s second-largest coal consumer and importer, saw higher demand for coal as power plants stocked up the fuel in anticipation of a surge in summer electricity consumption.
The Kolkata-based company said it saw higher realization per tonne of coal at 4,526 rupees under auction segment in the fourth quarter, up 86 per cent from a year ago.
Coal India breached its annual production target of 700 million tonnes in the financial year 2022-23, the first time it had surpassed its goal since the fiscal year that ended in March 2006.
