Coal India on Monday reported a 17.8 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, aided by higher coal sales and better realisation through fuel supply agreements.

Consolidated net profit was Rs 9,093.69 crore against Rs 7,719.11 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Net profit during the quarter was also sequentially up from Rs 6,813.50 crore in Q2FY24.

“This was the highest PAT (profit after tax) during the third quarter of any year since the company’s listing,” Coal India said in a statement to the stock exchange.

The total income of the public sector miner was Rs 38,357.23 crore, up 4.36 per cent from Rs 36,754.29 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Coal India’s total supply of coal through the fuel supply agreement (FSA) was 172.3 million tonnes (MT) during the October-December quarter of 2023-24 and the average realisation per tonne from the FSA sales was Rs 1,531.98 per tonne. In Q3FY23, FSA sales was 157.83 MT and average realisation was Rs 1,481.91 per tonne.

Coal India offered a total of 15.76 tonnes through e-auction during the quarter which is less than 14.65 tonnes in the corresponding quarter previous year.

Realisation through e-auction sales during Q3FY24 was Rs 3,321.24 per tonne compared with Rs 5,046.08 per tonne in Q3FY23 amid downward pressure on global thermal coal prices.

Coal India’s total production during the quarter was 199 MT compared with 180.06 MT in the year-ago period.

Coal offtake during the quarter was at 191.19 MT compared with 175.78 MT a year ago.

The Coal India board has given the approval for a second interim dividend for FY24 of Rs 5.25 per share. Total interim dividend for FY24 stands at Rs 20.50 per share..