Coal India on Sunday reported a net profit of Rs 5,527.62 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2023.

Profit was down 17.68 per cent from Rs 6,715 crore in the corresponding period previous year as the employee benefit expenses shot up during the quarter.

Total sales of the public sector miner during Q4FY23 stood at Rs 35,161.44 crore, up 17.26 per cent from Rs 29,985.45 crore during Q4FY22.

Though e-auction sales at 16.4 million tonnes (mt) during the quarter were lower by 41 per cent over the previous year, the miner was able to garner a higher premium with the realisation per tonne at Rs 4,526 under this segment during Q4FY23 compared with Rs 2,434 during Q4FY22. The realisation per ton of coal sold under the fuel supply agreement (FSA) during Q4FY23 was also better at Rs 1,550 compared with Rs 1,470 during Q4FY22.

However, employee benefit expenses during the quarter were at Rs 16,982.81 crore compared with Rs 10,595.02 crore in the year-ago period and this dragged down the bottomline for the quarter.

Coal India in a statement to the stock exchanges said that it has made a provision of Rs 5,870.16 crore for the National Coal Wage Agreement-XI dealing with the salary of non-executives which is due for revision from July 1, 2021. The amount has been included under employee benefit expenses in the consolidated financial statement.

For the full financial year 2022-23, Coal India registered a profit of Rs 28,125 crore compared with Rs 17,378 crore in 2021-22, a growth of 62 per cent. The company said that it has made a provision of Rs 8,153 crore for NCWA-XI for the full year.

Total consolidated sales for FY23 were Rs 1,27,627.47 crore, compared with Rs 1,00,562.57 crore during FY22, a jump of 27 per cent year on year.

The board of directors on Sunday recommended a final dividend of Rs 4 per share. Earlier in the two tranches, a total dividend of Rs 20.25 per share was already paid out.

The PSU’s salary bill was 29 per cent higher at Rs 49,409 crore in the last fiscal. The company, which is facing higher production costs, spent more than a third of its revenue on salaries.

Wages of non-executive workers, which account for 94 per cent of Coal India’s workforce, are revised every five years. The hike is due from July 2021. In 2017, CIL signed a wage agreement with worker unions proposing a 20 per cent hike in salaries for five years.