Coal India Ltd (CIL) has reported a decline of 6% in coal output attained during the first 6-months of FY20. The company’s coal production stood 241.01 MnT in Apr-Sep’19, down from 256.47 MnT noted in the year-ago period.
The off-pace production volume was aggravated by the excessive rainfall and to a little extent by the workers’ strike lamenting the FDI policy.
On the monthly basis, CIL’s coal output slumped to a fresh low of 30.77 MnT in Sep’19, recording its lowest total since Aug’13.
During Sep’19, NCL emerged as the largest coal producer with output of 7.67 MnT, overtaking production figures noted from the major contributors-SECL and MCL. In fact, NCL was among the three subsidiaries who had managed to post a y-o-y rise in coal production during the half year period.
NCL’s coal production increased 5% Y-o-Y to 51 MnT in H1 FY20, driven by remarkable growth in output recorded from Khadia and Dudhichua mining areas. The subsidiary had also achieved the production target of 50.17 MnT set for the period.
However, over the course of the 6-month period, SECL clocked the highest coal production of 60.72 MnT which had fell 16% Y-o-Y from 72.23 MnT noted in the year-ago period. The subsidiary is expected to face further down-slide in coal production affected by the flooding at Dipka coal mine, wherein mining operations are likely to be halted for at least a month.
The outage has come as a setback for CIL who was aiming to reduce the country’s dependence on coal imports. The coal company now lags behind 419 MnT of its aspirational target of 660 MnT coal production in FY20, which is needed to be attained in the next 6-months.
CIL’s Coal Off-take:
CIL’s coal off-take in the 6-month period was marked 14% higher than the corresponding production at 275.75 MnT, driven by a better coal stock in hand at the pit-head mines. Though, coal volumes had fell 5% Y-o-Y from 290.8 MnT noted in the same period last fiscal.
The subdued coal production is likely to impact CIL’s coal supplies in the coming months.
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