India's state-run Coal India Limited Thursday posted a 4% year-on-year decline in coal output to 40.74 million mt for May.
The total was below its output target for the month of 44.09 million mt, the company said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Output over April-May, the first two months of the current fiscal year, totaled 79.18 million mt, down 4.5% year on year and below target of 86.58 million mt, the company said.
The company also missed its May offtake target by 4.58 million mt, selling 46.41 million mt of dry fuel. However, offtake was up 2% on year.
Offtake over April-May was 91.70 million mt, below target of 100.50 million mt, but up 4% on year.
The company did not indicate why it missed its production and offtake targets. Market sources attributed it to high stockpiles at mines due to low demand from power producers.
CIL is India's largest coal producer, meeting around 84% of domestic requirements. It aims to produce 1 billion mt/year of coal by 2019-20.
Meanwhile, India's second largest coal producer, state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited, posted April-May output of 9.53 million mt, below target of 10.53 million mt but up 2% on year, and offtake of 10.62 million mt, below target of 11.26 million mt, but up 11% on year.
SCCL has set an output target of 100 million mt/year for 2020.
