Coal India is now left with an output target of 142 MT in the month of March, which will be the last month of the current financial year, in order to meet its guidance for the current financial year.
Offtake for the month of February also declined by 4.8% from last year to 62.1 MT. For the year so far, offtake stood at 693.4 MT, a growth of 1.3% year-on-year.
Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley called the decline in offtake “a key negative”.It called the slow pick-up in power demand as a key factor behind the drag in production and that inventory digestion may further impact offtakes, Morgan Stanley said.
This sharp moderation in offtake could weigh on Coal India’s earnings estimates for the fourth quarter of the current financial year and financial year 2026 as well, unless there is a sharp pick-up in economic activity, the brokerage said in its note.
Morgan Stanley though, remains “overweight” on Coal India with a price target of ₹525, which implies a potential upside of 46% on the stock.
Out of the 24 analysts that have coverage on Coal India, 18 of them have a “buy” rating, four of them say “hold”, while two have a “sell” rating.
Shares of Coal India are trading 3.3% lower on Monday at ₹357.35. The stock is down 35% from its recent high of ₹543.
