Coal India Q3 Results: Profit Falls 16% to ₹7,166 Crore on Pay Provision; Declares ₹5.5/Share Dividend
Mumbai: State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) reported a 16% year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit at ₹7,166 crore for the December 2025 quarter, impacted by a one-time provision of ₹2,201 crore for executive pay scale upgradation. The Maharatna PSU declared a third interim dividend of ₹5.50 per share for the financial year 2025-26.
The record date for the said dividend is fixed on February 18, 2026, and the same will be paid on or before March 12, 2026. This takes the total dividend payout for FY26 so far to ₹15.50 per share (₹9,548 crore), already exceeding the full-year FY25 dividend of ₹14 per share.
Key Highlights of Coal India Q3 FY26 Results:
Net Profit: Fell 16% year-on-year to ₹7,166 crore, compared with ₹8,491 crore in Q3 FY25. Sequentially, profit grew 5.4% from ₹6,800 crore in Q2 FY26.
Revenue from Operations: Declined 5% to ₹34,924 crore, against ₹36,858 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Net Sales: Dropped 5% to ₹30,818 crore from ₹32,359 crore year-on-year.
EBITDA: Declined 25% to ₹10,285 crore, with margin contracting to 33% from 43% in Q3 FY25, primarily due to the pay revision provision.
Earnings Per Share (EPS): Stood at ₹11.63 for the quarter, not annualised, against ₹13.79 in the year-ago period.
Employee Benefits Expense: Surged 22% to ₹13,220 crore, including the one-time provision of ₹2,201 crore for pay scale upgradation of executives effective retrospectively from August 23, 2023. Actuarial gratuity liability increased by ₹291 crore during the quarter.
Finance Cost: Rose sharply by 42% to ₹321 crore on account of higher working capital loans in BCCL, ECL, and holding company, as well as increase in unwinding of discount on mine closure provisions.
Other Income: Increased 12% to ₹2,392 crore, supported by higher interest income including IT refund and BCCL's interest on DVC tariff refund.
Contractual Expenses: Declined marginally by 2% to ₹8,373 crore, reflecting lower contractual composite production.
Depreciation: Decreased 12% to ₹2,218 crore, partly due to high base effect from impairment of stripping activity assets in NCL during Q3 FY25.
Operational Performance: Resilient Despite Monsoon Challenges
Coal Production: Registered a marginal decline of 1% to 200.05 million tonnes in Q3 FY26, against 202.02 million tonnes in the same quarter last year. For the nine-month period, production stood at 529.19 million tonnes, down 3% from 543.36 million tonnes.
Coal Offtake: Declined 3% to 188.66 million tonnes in Q3, compared with 194.53 million tonnes year-on-year. Nine-month offtake was 545.74 million tonnes, against 561.68 million tonnes.
Overburden Removal: Reduced 2% to 546.87 million cubic metres in Q3, and 3% to 1,402.65 million cubic metres in the nine-month period.
Contractual Share: Contractual coal accounted for 69% of total production in Q3 and 67% in the nine-month period. Contractual overburden removal constituted 88% of total OB removal in both periods.
Inventory: Closed at 89.94 million tonnes as on December 31, 2025, reflecting a reduction of 17.22 million tonnes (16%) from March 2025 levels. However, inventory increased by 19.51 million tonnes (28%) compared to December 2024.
Realisation: Price Pressure in E-Auction Segment
Overall Average Realisation: Declined marginally by 1% to ₹1,645 per tonne in the nine-month period, against ₹1,655 per tonne in 9M FY25.
FSA Realisation: Improved 2.3% to ₹1,504.18 per tonne, with quantity declining 13.03 million tonnes to 478.33 million tonnes.
E-Auction Realisation: Weakened 6.3% to ₹2,356.67 per tonne, with volume declining 1.37 million tonnes to 56.14 million tonnes.
Washed Coal & Other Realisation: Declined 10.5% to ₹3,402.22 per tonne, with volume down 1.62 million tonnes.
CQV & Performance Incentive Income: Reduced sharply to ₹930 crore in 9M FY26 from ₹1,580 crore in 9M FY25, a decline of ₹650 crore.
GST Rate Hike on Coal: ₹2,634 Crore ITC Unlocked
Effective September 22, 2025, the Government of India increased GST on coal from 5% to 18%, eliminating the inverted duty structure. This enabled CIL to utilize accumulated Input Tax Credit (ITC) of ₹2,634 crore during Q3 FY26 — a significant working capital relief.
The company had been carrying large ITC balances due to the inability to offset output liability at 5% against input credits at 18%. The rate rationalization has now resolved this structural issue permanently.
Subsidiary Performance: Sharp Divergence in Profitability
Northern Coalfields (NCL): Emerged as the top profit contributor with PBT of ₹10,745 crore in 9M FY26, registering 14% growth from ₹9,436 crore in 9M FY25.
Mahanadi Coalfields (MCL): Reported PBT of ₹10,302 crore, marginally lower by 3% from ₹10,647 crore.
South Eastern Coalfields (SECL): Registered marginal 2% growth in PBT to ₹3,663 crore.
Central Coalfields (CCL): Suffered 48% decline in PBT to ₹2,357 crore from ₹4,575 crore.
Western Coalfields (WCL): Reported 47% drop in PBT to ₹1,448 crore from ₹2,713 crore.
Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL): Witnessed sharp 92% erosion in PBT to ₹130 crore from ₹1,639 crore.
Eastern Coalfields (ECL): Slipped into loss, reporting PBT of negative ₹762 crore against positive ₹67 crore in 9M FY25.
CMPDIL: Registered 10% growth in PBT to ₹569 crore.
*NCL and MCL together contributed 77% of CIL's consolidated PBT in the nine-month period.*
Major Strategic Developments in Q3:
BCCL Listing on Stock Exchanges: Subsidiary Bharat Coking Coal Limited successfully listed its shares on BSE and NSE on January 19, 2026 — a key milestone in CIL's subsidiary monetization strategy. This is the first CIL subsidiary to be listed separately.
Maiden Dividend from HURL: CIL received ₹404.37 crore as dividend from Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited, a joint venture company, for the first time since its incorporation. This was the first interim dividend declared by HURL for FY 2025-26.
Entry into Critical Minerals: CIL secured the Kawalapur Rare Earth Element Block in Maharashtra in January 2026 through competitive bidding, marking its foray into critical mineral mining. The company also signed an MoU with Hindustan Copper Limited on June 30, 2025 for collaboration in copper and critical minerals sector.
Renewable Energy Expansion: Incorporated a new subsidiary CIL RAJASTHAN AKSHAY URJA LIMITED on June 9, 2025 with CIL holding 74% and RVUNL holding 26% stake. The company also signed an MoU with UPRVUNL on May 5, 2025 for setting up a 500 MW solar power project in Uttar Pradesh.
Thermal Power Joint Venture: Signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Damodar Valley Corporation for a 1,600 MW brownfield supercritical thermal power project at Chandrapura, Jharkhand comprising 2×800 MW units.
Financial Position Strengthens:
Net Worth: Crossed ₹1.06 lakh crore as on December 31, 2025, registering 7% growth from ₹99,105 crore in March 2025.
Book Value Per Share: Improved to ₹172.61 from ₹160.81 in March 2025.
Current Ratio: Improved to 1.67 from 1.49 in March 2025, reflecting better working capital management.
Debt Equity Ratio: Increased marginally to 0.14 from 0.09 due to working capital requirements in BCCL, ECL, and holding company.
Return on Equity (annualised): Declined to 20% from 39% in FY25 due to reduction in PAT and increase in net worth.
Management Commentary:
"The one-time provision for pay revision, while impacting quarterly profitability, addresses a long-pending employee compensation matter and will bring stability to our wage structure. Operationally, we have maintained production and offtake near last year's levels despite monsoon challenges and logistic constraints.
*The GST rate correction from 5% to 18% is a structural reform that has unlocked over ₹2,600 crore of accumulated ITC, significantly improving our cash flows. Our diversification into critical minerals, renewable energy, and thermal power is progressing as per plan, and we remain committed to the government's energy security and net-zero goals.*
The board has declared a third interim dividend of ₹5.50 per share, reflecting our confidence in the company's cash generation ability and our commitment to rewarding shareholders," said an official spokesperson.
Dividend History for FY26:
The company had earlier paid two interim dividends of ₹5 each in August and November 2025. With the third interim dividend of ₹5.50 per share, the total dividend payout for FY26 so far stands at ₹15.50 per share (₹9,548 crore) , already exceeding the full-year FY25 dividend of ₹14 per share.
Outlook for Remainder of FY26:
CIL has set an ambitious production target of 838 million tonnes for FY26, implying a strong rebound in the fourth quarter — traditionally the best performing quarter. The company is expected to accelerate production in Q4 to meet annual targets, continue ITC utilization from accumulated balances, progress on critical minerals exploration and development, advance renewable energy projects in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, and evaluate further subsidiary listings post the successful BCCL listing.
Market Reaction:
Coal India shares closed at ₹486.75 on the National Stock Exchange, down 2.1% from the previous close, reflecting the profit decline. The stock has declined 8% in the past one month but remains up 12% on a year-to-date basis. The 52-week range is ₹415.20 – ₹612.80.
Conference Call Details:
CIL management will hold an earnings conference call on February 13, 2026 at 4:00 PM IST to discuss the results and respond to analyst queries. The audio recording and transcript will be made available on the company's website.
About Coal India Limited:
Coal India Limited is a 'Maharatna' Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. It is the single largest coal producer in the world, contributing over 80% of India's total coal output. The company operates through eight production subsidiaries and more than 350 mines spread across 21 coalfields in eight states. CIL is diversifying into renewable energy, critical minerals, and thermal power generation as part of its long-term growth strategy.