Coal India shares soar 7% to hit 52-week high as firm permits direct participation of foreign coal buyers in e-auctions

In a regulatory filing, Coal India said that, effective January 1, 2026, it has for the first time allowed coal consumers from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal to directly participate in its Single Window Mode Agnostic (SWMA) auctions to import coal from India.

CIL’s board has cleared the decks recently for this move, tweaking the scheme’s mechanism in the SWMA auction.

Under the revised framework, foreign buyers can participate alongside domestic buyers in the SWMA auction. Earlier, access to CIL’s coal by coal consumers across the borders was only through domestic coal traders who were allowed to buy and sell coal without any end-use restrictions.

“Opening SWMA e-auctions to foreign buyers reflects CIL’s calibrated approach to market expansion while fully safeguarding domestic coal requirements. This step enhances transparency, competition and global market integration,” said a senior company official.

Coal India further said all operational and procedural modalities have been incorporated in the updated scheme. Key provisions for foreign buyers include one-time registration, participation through digital bidding, advance electronic payments and export through notified logistics channels.

About the payment process, the coal major said that it would be transparent and in line with Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules. The firm said that buyers from Nepal would be allowed to make payments in both Indian rupees and US dollars, while buyers from Bangladesh and Bhutan would be required to pay in US dollars, with valuation linked to the Indian rupee.

Earlier, CIL had dialogues with the prospective coal consumers from abroad to categorise the enabling clauses and gauge their need for coal.

Coal India share price

At close, Coal India shares settled at ₹429.1 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, soaring 7.15%.

In a month, shares of the firm have gained over 12%, while for six months’ time, they have rallied 10%. On a year-on-year basis, Coal India shares have climbed 8.5%.

The company has a market capitalisation of ₹2.62 lakh crore.

Coal India’s December output

The largest coal mining company in the country had reported a 4.6% growth in production year-on-year (YoY) and a 5.2% decline in offtake in December.

Coal India, along with its eight subsidiaries, produced 75.7 million tonnes (mt) of coal in December 2025, higher than 72.4 mt in the same month in 2024.

However, the offtake was at 64.9 mt in the month under review, lower than 68.5 mt in December 2024. Its cumulative production fell by 2.6% to 529.2 mt in April-December FY26 from 543.4 mt in the nine-month period of the preceding FY25.

Coal India Q2 earnings

The state-owned company had reported a 31% decline in its consolidated net profit at ₹4,354 crore for the second quarter of financial year 2025-26. Its profit for the same quarter last fiscal year was at ₹6,289 crore.

The company’s revenue from operations for Q2 FY26 slipped 3.19% to ₹30,187 crore as against ₹31,182 crore reported in the corresponding quarter last fiscal year.

Coal India’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased 22% to ₹6,716 crore for Q2 FY26 as compared to ₹8,617 crore in Q2 FY25. The margin for the quarter under review contracted to 22.25% in contrast to 27.63% year on year (YoY).