Coal India reports 65% jump in capex in Q1FY23; logs growth for ninth consecutive quarter

11 Jul 2022 , 12:54 PM

Coal India Limited (CIL) maintained its capital expenditure (CAPEX) growth for the ninth quarter in a row, achieving a solid 65% increase over the comparable quarter last year in the first quarter FY23.

CIL’s CAPEX increased to Rs3,034 crore in April-June 22 from Rs1,841 crore in April-June 21, resulting in a Rs1,193 crore volume increase.

“The CAPEX increase resulted from robust spending on acquiring land and improving transportation infrastructure in our coalfields as part of first-mile connectivity projects. These two critical areas assist CIL in expanding its mining operations for accelerated production and combining them with seamless coal transportation,” a senior company official stated.

Land acquisition, at Rs608 crore, accounted for nearly one-fifth of total CAPEX in the first quarter. This represents a nearly 2.3-fold jump over the Rs268 crore spent under this heading between April and June of this year. The money was spent across all of CIL’s subsidiaries.

Rail sidings and rail corridor laying cost was Rs571 crore in Q1FY23, representing a 57% upside. On a like-for-like basis, the expenditure under this category was Rs363 crore.

Both evacuation logistics projects, totaling Rs1,148 crore, accounted for more than one-third, or 38%, of the first quarter’s total CAPEX of Rs3,034 crore.

Joint ventures Hindustan Urvarak Rasayan Limited and Talcher Fertilizers Limited consumed Rs. 518 crores in capital expenditure. HURL’s Gorakhpur plant has already begun production, while the Sindri and Barauni plants will become operational during the fiscal year.

At around 1.08 PM, Coal India was trading at Rs193 up by Rs3.2 or 1.69% from its previous closing of Rs189.80 on the BSE. The scrip touched intraday high and low of Rs194.30 and Rs186.95 respectively.