Bharat Coking Coal Limited reported a 3.4% year-on-year increase in raw coal production for July 2026, reaching 2.45 million tonnes. Despite this monthly gain, the company’s progressive output from April to July 2026 declined significantly by 21.1% to 9.00 million tonnes compared to 11.41 million tonnes in the same period last year. The divergence highlights operational challenges in the early part of the financial year, particularly in opencast mining, which drives the majority of the company’s volume.

The disclosure was made under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, on August 1, 2026. Debanuj Debnath, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer, submitted the provisional monthly production performance to the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India. The filing provides a comparative view against the previous fiscal year, offering investors insight into the company’s recovery trajectory following earlier production shortfalls.

Raw Coal Production: Monthly Gains, Progressive Decline

For July 2026, total raw coal production stood at 2.45 million tonnes, registering a 3.4% growth compared to 2.37 million tonnes in July of the previous year. However, on a progressive basis covering April to July 2026, raw coal production totalled 9.00 million tonnes, a significant 21.1% decline from 11.41 million tonnes recorded in the same period last year.

The following table summarises the complete provisional production performance:

Coal Type and Mine-wise Breakdown

Breaking down production by coal type, coking coal output for July 2026 was 2.37 million tonnes, up 4.6% from 2.26 million tonnes in July of the previous year. Non coking coal production, however, declined 22.1% YoY to 0.08 million tonnes in July 2026, compared to 0.10 million tonnes in the same month last year. On a progressive basis, coking coal production fell 21.2% to 8.57 million tonnes from 10.88 million tonnes, while non coking coal declined 19.4% to 0.43 million tonnes from 0.53 million tonnes.

By mine type, opencast mines contributed the bulk of production at 2.40 million tonnes in July 2026, a 3.3% increase over 2.33 million tonnes in the prior year period. Underground mines produced 0.05 million tonnes in July 2026, up 12.5% from 0.04 million tonnes. On a progressive basis, opencast mine output fell 21.5% to 8.79 million tonnes from 11.21 million tonnes, while underground mine production grew 4.5% to 0.21 million tonnes from 0.20 million tonnes.

Washed Coking Coal and Overburden Removal

Production of washed coking coal recorded the strongest monthly growth, rising 37.2% YoY to 0.14 million tonnes in July 2026 from 0.10 million tonnes in the same month last year. On a progressive basis, washed coking coal output grew 9.0% to 0.56 million tonnes from 0.52 million tonnes. Overburden removal for July 2026 stood at 10.46 million CuM, a 3.1% increase over 10.15 million CuM in the prior year period, though the progressive figure of 43.41 million CuM reflects a 27.2% decline from 59.59 million CuM.

Raw Coal Offtake

Raw coal offtake for July 2026 was 2.83 million tonnes, marking a 10.9% increase compared to 2.55 million tonnes in July of the previous year. On a progressive basis, offtake for April to July 2026 was 10.58 million tonnes, down 8.2% from 11.53 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Bharat Coking Coal reported a net loss of ₹68.09 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2026, marking a sharp reversal from the net profit of ₹176.87 crore recorded in the same period last year. The financial deterioration was primarily driven by a significant decline in coal production and off-take, coupled with rising operational costs that outpaced revenue generation.

Operational Contraction Drives Loss

The company faced a broad-based contraction in operational metrics during the quarter. Coal production dropped 27.43% to 6.56 million tonnes (MT) from 9.04 MT in Q1FY26, while off-take decreased 14.03% to 7.70 MT. Overburden removal also declined by 34.68% to 31.87 million cubic meters. This reduction in sales volume directly impacted revenue, with outside dispatch falling from 8.83 MT to 7.81 MT.

Revenue from operations fell 3.56% year-on-year to ₹3,587.27 crore. However, total expenditure increased by 4.70% to ₹3,826.31 crore, widening the gap between income and costs. The pre-tax loss stood at ₹103.07 crore, compared to a pre-tax profit of ₹247.40 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Financial Metrics and Profitability

The erosion in profitability was evident across key financial indicators. EBITDA for the quarter stood at ₹71.50 crore, a substantial decrease from ₹373.28 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The EBITDA margin contracted to 1.92% of total income from 5.26% a year ago.

Cost pressures intensified, with the cost per tonne rising to ₹3,375.04 from ₹2,975.84, while sales per tonne remained relatively flat at ₹3,243.13 compared to ₹3,256.15. Earnings per share (EPS) turned negative, recording a basic and diluted EPS of ₹(0.15), down from ₹0.38 in Q1FY26.

Cost Increases and Capital Expenditure

Several expense categories saw significant increases, impacting the bottom line. Finance costs surged 84.40% to ₹48.33 crore due to the availment of working capital and bank overdraft facilities. Depreciation and amortization expenses rose 26.66% to ₹126.24 crore.

Despite the financial headwinds, the company continued its capital expansion, incurring a capex of ₹487.34 crore during the quarter, significantly higher than the ₹182.02 crore spent in the same period last year. The capex target for the financial year 2026-27 is set at ₹1,000 crore. The results were approved by the Board of Directors on July 21, 2026, and reviewed by the Statutory Auditor as per Regulation 33 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.

Source: https://lodr-files.dhan.co/lodr-inputs/Company/INE05XR01022/8d684c62-a27e-420e-ab4a-a883eddc4cd7.pdf