Coal India stock surges over 7% on BSE; touches nearly five-year high

Shares of public sector undertaking (PSU) Coal India (CIL) hit nearly five-year high of Rs 274, going up 7.07 per cent on the BSE after Thursday’s trade amid heavy volumes.

The stock finished the day at its highest level since October 2018.
 

Sustaining its production pace, CIL produced 52.3 million tonnes (MTs) of coal in August 2023, registering a strong 13.2 per cent increase over 46.2 MTs of August 2022. Its August 2023 production/sales volume continued at the highest-ever level for the fifth successive month in the 2023-24 financial year (FY24). Coal inventory at company’s pitheads stood at a comfortable 45.3 MTs as of 31 August, 46 per cent higher compared to 31 MTs of coal stock at the same time last year. This helps in meeting any sudden demand upsurge from the power sector.
 

Going ahead, analysts at ICICI Securities say that the firm is likely to gain from operating leverage benefits, accruing from higher sales volume for both non-regulated sector and e-auction customers, despite much lower e-auction premium than in FY23.
 

Meanwhile, based on the demand projection in ‘Vision 2024’ for coal sector in the country and subsequent demand projectionfor Coal India, a roadmap has been prepared to project production plan in medium term wherein the company has envisaged 1 billion tonne coal production by FY26 and beyond to meet the coal demand of the country.