Kolkata, May 21 (Inditop) Coal India Ltd (CIL) has posted net profit of Rs.96 crore in 2008-09 against a profit of Rs.5,243 crore the year before, a top company official said here Thursday.

“The profit dropped because of the upward revision of wages for wage board employees,” CIL chairman Partha S. Bhattacharyya told reporters at a media briefing.

CIL’s profit before tax and dividend was around Rs.12,100 crore in 2008-09. But after the enhanced payoff on account of the wage revision, it dropped to around Rs.4,240 crore (provisional).

From this, the company has made an income tax payment of Rs.4,142 crore.

CIL’s total production during 2008-09 was 403.73 million tonnes, against a target of 405 million tonnes, with gross sales nearing Rs.45,700 crore – reflecting a growth of 17.54 percent over that of the previous fiscal.

“Production target for 2009-2010 has been set at 435 million tonnes,” Bhattacharyya said.

Asked about the chances of an increase in coal prices in the near term, Bhattacharyya said there was “need” for an upward revision, but declined to quantify the amount of hike or the time frame within which this can be expected.

By rounak