Team News Riveting
Kolkata, December 10
Coal India Limited (CIL) logged a strong 77 per cent growth in e-auction sales in April-November of the ongoing fiscal, under five windows, booking 68.3 Million Tonnes (MTs).
The upsurge in the booked or allocated quantity of coal was close to 30 MTs, in absolute terms, compared to 38.6 MTs booked during the same period a year ago.
Indicating increased appetite from non-power consumers, exclusive auction for this sector booked 17.4 MTs, which is 25.5 per cent of the total allocated quantity during the referred period. Compared to 4.8 MTs booked by non-power consumers during April-November’19 the growth is more than three and half fold or 262 per cent.
E-auction sales for November’20 not only witnessed improved volume bookings at 9.4 MTs, clocking 23.7 per cent growth last November but CIL could also net a 30 per cent premium over the notified prices.
This is a big leap from the 13 per cent premium the auctions fetched in October’20 when CIL for the first time in the present fiscal introduced add on over the notified price, after a six month hiatus, to gauge the market response.
Considering the market response to e-auctions there is a strong possibility that the bookings could go over 100 MTs in the current fiscal.
Special spot auction for coal importers also gained positive response with 3.3 MTs booked in November’20 with a premium of 21 per cent. The quantity is twice that of 1.6 MTs booked in October, the first occasion CIL introduced this window, when the premium fetched over notified price was 14 per cent.
“For now the focus remains on volume expansion in e-auction sales rather than add-ons over the reserve price.Going forward add-ons will be pliable based on subsidiary wise and grade wise demand” said a senior executive of the company.
Given the power sector’s 80 per cent share in CIL’s total off-take programme it will not be feasible for the non-power sector to offset demand shortfall from the power sector fully. However, the demand from the non-power sector is on the up and there is scope for further increase.
Till the demand from the power sector strengthens and stabilizes, CIL is eyeing sponge iron, CPPs, Cement and Aluminum sectors etc. with a two-fold aim. To ramp up volume dispatches and substitute imported coal with domestic coal.
CIL has communicated with over 300 coal importers seeking their requirement from domestic sources. The international coal prices taking a northerly route in the last fortnight could offer CIL an opening.
