Coal India is currently the top loser on the BSE, down 2.6% at Rs.277.50, closer to its intra day low at Rs.276. Its 52-week low is at Rs.238.35.

The stock is down post its Q2FY14 earnings which were announced after market closing. It was a very subdued set of numbers, showing lower demand and lower prices. Higher wage costs which have also been a bane for Coal India too hurt the bottomlines. This is the world’s largest coal miner in terms of output and it is for the second consecutive quarter that it posted a decline in profits. Though net sales rose by 6% (YoY) at Rs.15411 crore, net profit was flat at Rs.3052 crore v/s Rs.3078 crore.

EBITDA was down 2% at Rs.2794 and EBITDA margins slipped from 19.6% to 18.1%. Its blended realizations dropped from Rs.1432/tonne to Rs.1412/tonne. Its expense on contractual staff rose 28% while that on employee was up 3% at Rs.6970 crore, which eats away over 45% of the net revenue earned.