Coal India Q4 net profit up 35 percent, beats estimates

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Coal India, the world's largest coal producer, posted a 35 percent rise in its fourth-quarter profit, beating market expectations, helped by strong sales and lower-than-expected costs.

The state-run miner said its January-March net profit rose to 54.14 billion rupees from 40.13 billion rupees a year earlier. Net sales rose 2.5 percent to 199.05 billion rupees.

On an average, analysts had forecast a net profit of 49.97 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data. The company's financial year ended on March 31.

($1 = 55.61 rupees)

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra; editing by Miral Fahmy)