The country’s largest coal mining company – Coal India suffered a loss of around Rs 700 crore in the April-June quarter of the 2021-22 fiscal year due to a sharp rise in diesel prices over the period, according to PTI news agency. According to Pramod Agarwal, chairman of Coal India, Coal India lost about Rs 700 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as diesel prices rose about 35 percent. Diesel used to be in the range of Rs 66-67 and now costs about Rs 8, which is a significant increase for the state-owned coal mining company.
Coal India reported net profit of 3,170 crore in the April-June quarter on a consolidated basis, compared to ₹2,079 crore in the corresponding period last year. The mining giant’s profits grew 52 percent year-on-year, primarily driven by revenue and operating income.
Coal India plans to replace its diesel-powered heavy machinery with LNG-fired equipment and aims to add approximately 1,500 electric vehicles to its fleet over the next five years to support the reduction of CO2 emissions. It aims for a carbon offset of 2.5 lakh tons over the next five years.
The company has set a capital expenditure or capex target of Rs 17,000 crore for the fiscal year 2021-22, which is about Rs 4,000 crore more than the expenditure last year. Coal India expects cash flow improvement with rising coal demand and higher e-auction sales realization.
