Coal India: Here's why analysts predict a 25% fall in its FY21 earnings

Lockdown impact on volumes, lower e-auction share to hit profits

The steeper-than-expected fall in Coal India’s net profit for the March 2020 quarter (Q4) affected the Street's sentiment, with the stock declining 5 per cent on Monday.

The lockdown for nine days during Q4 meant coal sales volumes were flat at 164 million tonne (MT). The net profit fell by almost 23 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 4,626 crore, and was much less than the consensus estimate of Rs 5,024 crore. Though the decline was also due to a higher tax outgo, even profit before tax was down 16.3 per cent. Amid weak coal demand, the fall in high-margin e-auction