Coal India Posts 53% Surge in Q2 Net Profit to ₹6,516 Crore as Subsidiary SECL Files for $800-Million IPO
State-run mining behemoth Coal India Limited (CIL) delivered a major double boost for domestic equity markets, posting a 53% year-on-year jump in quarterly profit while progressing the public listing of its largest coal-producing arm, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL).
Coal India Q2 FY27: Earnings and Dividend Surge
Coal India reported a consolidated net profit of ₹6,516 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2026, marking a 52.99% growth compared to ₹4,259 crore recorded in the year-ago period. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 20.9% year-on-year to ₹44,179 crore from ₹36,553 crore.
Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 28.9% to ₹8,499 crore, with operating margins standing at 19.2%. Coal production for the quarter reached 151 million tonnes, up 4% year-on-year, while offtake expanded 12% to 186 million tonnes.
Alongside the earnings release, the company's board declared a second interim dividend of ₹10.25 per equity share (face value of ₹10 each) for FY27, setting the record date as November 4, 2026.
South Eastern Coalfields Submits DRHP to SEBI
In a major milestone for state asset monetisation, SECL filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on November 1, 2026.
The proposed issue is structured entirely as an Offer for Sale (OFS) of up to 66,80,56,100 (66.81 crore) equity shares of face value ₹2 each by promoter Coal India, with no fresh equity capital being issued. Consequently, all net proceeds will flow to Coal India rather than SECL. The public issue could raise up to $800 million (approximately ₹6,700 crore) depending on market pricing.
Key Transaction Details:
- Promoter Selling Shareholder: Coal India Limited (offloading up to 66.81 crore equity shares)
- Issue Structure: 100% Offer for Sale (OFS)
- Reservation Breakdown: Not more than 50% for Qualified Institutional Bidders (QIBs), not less than 35% for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs), and not less than 15% for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs)
- Book Running Lead Managers: SBI Capital Markets, ICICI Securities, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities, and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors
- Registrar: KFin Technologies Limited
- Listing Bourses: BSE and NSE
Operational Scale and Financial Health of SECL
Headquartered in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, SECL was incorporated in 1985 and holds Miniratna Category-I status. It is the second-largest coal-producing subsidiary of Coal India. In FY26, SECL produced 176.29 million tonnes of coal, accounting for 16.94% of India's total domestic coal output and contributing 22.95% of Coal India's aggregate production.
As of September 30, 2026, SECL operated 53 producing mines (19 opencast and 34 underground) across 13 operating areas in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Its flagship assets include the Gevra and Kusmunda opencast mines in Chhattisgarh's Korba coalfield, which rank among the largest coal mines globally by production capacity. As of April 1, 2026, SECL possessed 47.55 billion tonnes in geological coal resources and 4.61 billion tonnes of audited coal reserves, representing an estimated mine life of 26 years at FY26 extraction rates.
Financially, SECL generated ₹32,956.5 crore in operational revenue and ₹4,754.6 crore in net profit in FY26. For the first half of FY27 (ended September 30, 2026), SECL reported revenue from operations of ₹16,593.7 crore (up from ₹15,090.2 crore a year earlier), while net profit nearly doubled to ₹2,174.3 crore compared to ₹1,140.9 crore in H1 FY26.
Expanding the Coal India Subsidiary Pipeline
The filing marks another step in the Ministry of Coal's plan to unlock value from Coal India's operating arms. It follows the September 2026 DRHP filing by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) for a 10% stake sale and the maiden market offering of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL).
For Indian market participants, the listing offers pure-play exposure to one of the country's most critical fuel suppliers, while bolstering Coal India's balance sheet through significant non-operational capital returns.
