Coal India’s Q4 output may rise 4.4%

Coal India’s production during the current quarter is projected at 184.10 million tonne (mt), according to a company report.

This would mean a rise of 4.4% from 176.37 mt the company produced in the year earlier period.

The production for the full financial year is projected at 568.02 mt, up 2.5% from last year, the report said. It said the June quarter saw negative growth of 5.4% at 118.84 mt as against 125.67 mt a year earlier.

In the second quarter, the production was up 8.3% at 113.04 mt and in the following three-month period, it reached 152.04 mt, registering a growth of 2.9%.

“The negative growth in the first quarter was witnessed due to lack of demand,” Coal India chairman and MD Gopal Singh said. He emphasised that there was no shortage of coal in the country and that there was enough coal for everyone.

There was not even a lack of demand, he said while maintaining that supply should be the focus area because if it improved, problems related to coal supplies to plants at long distances could be overcome. He said the modes of transporting coal were doing well, and developing them would improve supplies further.

Railways role

Railways was supplying at its best, he said. “320 rakes a day, 280 to just the power sector,” he said.

Coal Minister Piyush Goyal had informed Lok Sabha this week that dispatch through road during April-October increased by 12 mt over the dispatch of 81 mt in the corresponding period of 2016-17.

CIL further said in the report that offtake in the current quarter is projected at 159.07 mt, growing 5% from 151.54 mt in the year-earlier period. The dispatch to the power sector is expected at 121.95 mt, rising 3.5% from January-March last year.

Dispatch to the non-power sector in the quarter is projected at 37.12 mt, compared with 33.37 mt.

Source: PTI