India: CIL coal dispatches rise nearly 4% y-o-y in Q1 FY’27 despite drop in production

• • June dispatches outpace flat production

• • Q1 output falls; demand stays resilient

Coal India Limited (CIL) reported largely stable coal production and stronger dispatches in June 2026, indicating steady coal demand from the power and industrial sectors despite lower output from some of its key subsidiaries.

CIL’s coal production stood at 57.4 million tonnes (mnt) in June 2026, marginally down by 0.6% y-o-y from 57.8 mnt in June 2025. On a month-on-month basis, production increased by 2.3% from 56.1 mnt in May, reflecting a modest improvement in mining activity. On Q1 basis, coal production has fallen 7.5% y-o-y to 169.6 mnt.

Meanwhile, coal dispatches reached 65.8 mnt in June, up 7.5% y-o-y from 61.2 mnt in the corresponding month last year. However, dispatches eased 1.3% m-o-m from 66.7 mnt in May, mainly due to seasonal factors and pre-monsoon operational adjustments. On Q1 basis, coal dispatches have increased 3.5% y-o-y to 197.7 mnt.

As the public sector miner prioritised sales and inventory liquidation, dispatches have risen despite a drop in production in Q1’FY27. The increase suggests that demand from power producers and industrial consumers remained strong, supported by steady coal movement and inventory drawdowns.

SECL and CCL support production as MCL output declines:

The slight fall in CIL’s overall production was mainly due to lower output from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL), although stronger production from a few other subsidiaries helped reduce the overall impact.

SECL remained CIL’s largest producer, with coal production rising 7.8% y-o-y to 14.4 mnt, compared with 13.3 mnt in June 2025. CCL recorded the highest growth among the major subsidiaries, with production increasing 18.3% y-o-y to 4.5 mnt from 3.8 mnt. WCL also reported a small increase of 3.6% y-o-y, producing 5 mnt during the month.

NCL’s production remained almost unchanged at 11.2 mnt, down just 0.1% y-o-y, while ECL recorded a slight decline of 1%, producing 3.9 mnt.

In contrast, MCL recorded the biggest fall in production, with output dropping 18.3% y-o-y to 14.5 mnt from 17.7 mnt in June 2025. BCCL also reported weaker production, down 11.8% y-o-y to 2.3 mnt, mainly due to lower coking coal output.

CCL leads dispatch growth as coal demand stays firm:

Coal dispatches continued to perform better than production, showing steady demand from power plants and industrial users.

CCL recorded the strongest growth in dispatches, with volumes rising 51.5% y-o-y to 7.5 mnt from 5 mnt in June 2025. SECL also maintained good momentum, with dispatches increasing 4.8% y-o-y to 16.3 mnt. MCL remained the largest dispatcher, sending 18 mnt of coal during the month, up 3.5% y-o-y.

ECL reported a 10.1% y-o-y increase in dispatches to 4.4 mnt, while WCL dispatches remained almost unchanged at 6 mnt, up 0.6% from the previous year.

On the other hand, NCL dispatches fell 1.1% y-o-y to 11 mnt, reflecting lower coal availability. BCCL dispatches remained unchanged at 2.7 mnt, in line with its lower production.

Outlook:

The gap between production and dispatches in June shows that coal demand remains strong, even though production has been affected at some subsidiaries.

Looking ahead, the progress of the monsoon, mine productivity and coal evacuation will be key factors affecting production in the coming months. While dispatches are likely to remain supported by steady demand from the power sector, stronger production will be important to maintain adequate coal supplies during the monsoon season.