Coal India records a 16% fall in its net profit to Rs 3,262 crore

Company's net sales up by 5% at Rs 17,763 cr

Hit by increased expenses, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has recorded a 16 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit to Rs 3,262 crore for the December quarter. The net profit in the year-ago quarter was Rs 3,894 crore.

The net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 17,763 crore - a five per cent rise over Rs 16,928 crore in the year-ago period.

According to the company's filing to the BSE, expenses during the quarter were Rs 14,850 crore compared with Rs 13,266 crore in the year-ago period. Among the main contributors to the increase were employee-benefit expenses, contractual expenses and overburden-removal adjustments.

However, the performance of the public sector miner improved over the previous quarter. The net profit in the second quarter stood at Rs 2,192 crore.

The coal production rose to 131 million tonnes (mt) from 119 mt a year ago.

CIL shares closed at Rs 369 apiece on the BSE on Thursday, down by 0.8 per cent from the previous close, on a day the benchmark index was up by nearly one per cent.