Coal India on Friday reported a 22 per cent drop in consolidated net profit for the second quarter ended September 30 (Q2FY25) on account on of low coal offtake.

Consolidated net profit during Q2FY25 was ₹6,274.80 crore compared with ₹8,048.64 crore in Q2FY24.

Consolidated total income was ₹32,177.92 crore, down 7.42 per cent from ₹34,760.30 crore a year ago.

The profit fall was primarily on account of lower coal sales during the quarter. Coal offtake was 167.71 million tonnes (mt) during Q2FY25 compared with 173.73mt in Q2FY24. Production was 152.06 mt compared with 157.43 mt a year ago.

The low offtake was on account of seasonal weakness as widespread rains lowered the demand from power plants.

This is reflected in the generation data with the plant load factor of the central sector thermal power plants at 70.03 per cent in August and 71.26 per cent in September compared with 74.56 per cent and 75.77 per cent, respectively, in the same months in 2023.

The average realisation per tonne from fuel supply agreements and e-auction during the quarter was ₹1,462.51 and ₹2,471.02 compared with ₹1,541.75 and ₹2,838.14, respectively, in Q2FY24.

The board of directors also approved the closure of CIL Solar PV Limited (CSPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India, which is expected to be completed within the next 8-10 months.

“Since inception, CSPL has not undertaken any commercial activities. Present highly competitive market dynamics for solar power value chain are tilted towards private players. CPSEs are restricted to procure cheaper alternative of solar PV manufacturing technologies from countries sharing land border with India, including China, which results in an uneven playing field by making impact on the feasibility of the project,” Coal India said as reasons for closure of the subsidiary.

The board of directors have declared an interim dividend of ₹15.75 per share for FY25.