Coal India's output dips 0.8% in Jan, first monthly decline in FY25

Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Saturday reported its first monthly production de-growth with the miner's output reducing by 0.8 per cent year-on-year in January.

The company produced 77.8 million tonnes (MT) of coal in January as compared to 78.4 MT in the year-ago month.

Despite the January production decline, CIL's management remains optimistic about achieving strong growth in the February-March period of the current fiscal, an official said.

In December 2024, Coal India's production increased by 5.25 per cent year-on-year.

For the period from April 2024 to January 2025, CIL recorded a growth of 1.8 per cent with output reaching 621.1 MT, up from 610.3 MT in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

CIL's offtake in January stood at 68.6 MT, a 2.2 per cent increase, from 67.1 MT in the year-ago month.

For the first 10 months of the current fiscal (April 2024-January 2025), CIL's offtake reached 630.2 MT, reflecting a 1.8 per cent increase, from 619.4 MT in the corresponding period last year.

The dip in output of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) were major contributors to the decline in overall production in January, the official said.

SECL reported an 11.8 per cent decline, with production dropping to 17.4 MT in January 2025, as compared to 19.7 MT in the year-ago month.

However, another top CIL official said higher production is expected for this subsidiary in the next two months, which will help revive output in the following months.

BCCL produced 3.6 MT in January 2025, a 5.6 per cent decline.

CIL has already indicated that it could miss its annual production target of 838 million tonnes.