Street awaits Coal India’s volume recovery after Q3 miss

Volume disappointment and profit concerns remain for Coal India even though the company continues to see regular improvement in performance post easing of lockdown.

Sales volume though increased 9.1% year-on-year to 154 million tonnes (MT) in the December quarter, it came on a low base of last year. The company’s sales volumes for 10 months at 453.3 MT rose just 4.4% year-on-year.

For coal supplied under fuel supply agreement (FSA), volumes fell 4% YoY to 123 MT during Q3. This was lower than analyst expectations. Analysts at Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFS) had estimated FSA volumes at 133 MT. FSA realization too declined 4% to ₹1,354/tonne against MOFL expectations of ₹1,401/tonne