1. At a Glance – The Coal King Is Still Breathing Fire
At ₹418 per share and a market cap of ₹2,57,417 crore, Coal India Limited is not just a PSU — it’s India’s 80% coal monopoly wearing a dividend crown.
Q3 FY26 numbers are in:
- Revenue: ₹34,924 crore
- PAT: ₹7,166 crore
- EPS: ₹11.61
- ROCE: 48%
- ROE: 38.9%
- Dividend Yield: 6.32%
- Stock P/E: 8.62
And yes, they just declared a 3rd interim dividend of ₹5.50 per share.
But here’s the masala:
Quarterly profit fell 15.8% YoY.
Sales fell 5.25% YoY.
Yet this company still trades at less than half the industry P/E of 16.8.
How does a monopoly with 80% national coal production still look “cheap”? Is it a value opportunity or a slow-burning thermal story in a solar world?
Let’s dig.
2. Introduction – The PSU That Powers India (Literally)
Coal India was born in 1975 after the nationalization of coal mines. It is a Maharatna under the Ministry of Coal, headquartered in Kolkata.
This is not a startup. This is the electricity backbone of India.
82% of its coal goes to the power sector. If your fan is spinning right now, chances are Coal India made it happen.
In FY23, it produced a record 703.2 million tonnes of coal. In FY24 9M, production hit 531.9 MT. The company aims to produce 1 billion tonnes by FY26.
But wait.
Capacity utilization in FY22 was only 77%. That’s like owning a Ferrari and driving it at 77 kmph.
Meanwhile:
- 318 mines operational
- 13 coal washeries
- 84 mining areas
- Expansion projects worth tens of thousands of crores
- Solar target: 5 GW renewable capacity
So the question is simple:
Is Coal India transitioning — or just trying to look green while mining black?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Imagine you control 80% of India’s coal output.
That’s Coal India.
They mine:
- Coking coal
- Non-coking coal
- Washed coal
- Coke
- Tar
- Heavy oil
- Light oil
- Middlings
Basically, if it’s black and burns, they probably sell it.
Operations span 8 states. They also own a Mozambique entity (yet to commence operations).
Their biggest customers:
