Shares of Coal India jumped 4% to Rs 263 apiece in early trade on Friday after the coal miner posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 6,024.23 crore for the fourth quarter ended March (Q4), a jump of 362% over Rs 1,302.63 crore profit in the year-ago quarter. Coal India’s consolidated sales rose 7.9% year-on-year to Rs 26,704.2 crore during the March quarter. The company closed 2018-19 with a 148% rise in its post-tax profit to Rs 17,462.2 crore, while consolidated total revenue increased 15% to Rs 1.05 lakh crore during the last fiscal.
All the subsidiaries of CIL earned profits during the year. CIL produced 606 million tonnes of raw coal during the year against 567.4 million tonnes in 2017-18. Offtake stood at 608.1 million tonnes against 580.3 million tonnes.
Employee cost dropped by Rs 3,851 crore in 2018-19. The company executives said this was mainly on account of the Rs 7,000 crore one-time provision that had to be made in 2017-18 due to the rise in gratuity ceiling.
After the earnings, Citi gave a ‘buy’ rating on Coal India, raising target price to Rs 320 from Rs 300 per share. Citi said the company offers an attractive dividend yield, adding that it values Coal India at a premium given its resource base and limited exposure to global volatility.
CLSA also maintained its ‘buy’ rating on the Coal India stock with a target price of Rs 290 compared to Rs 275 earlier. The brokerage firm said the March quarter operating income was higher than estimate, led by better-than-expected realisations, though it now expects flattish earnings per share over FY19-21.
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