Coal India increases dividend payout for second time in a month

Kolkata: Coal India Ltd., the world’s biggest miner of the fuel, said it will pay a dividend of Rs1.15 a share, its second payout in less than a month.
The payment will amount to Rs7.13 billion ($109 million), according to Bloomberg calculations based on a stock exchange filing on Sunday. The Kolkata-based company has set March 29 as the record date for the latest payout. Earlier this month, Coal India announced a dividend of Rs18.75 a share, which was 32 per cent lower than the previous year’s payout.
Coal India earnings have declined because of provisions for a retroactive salary increase for staff. The company’s stock has declined about 0.7 per cent this year, compared with a 10.5 per cent gain in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.
“Until there is a recovery in earnings, the dividend yield remains the biggest draw for investors,” said Abhisar Jain, an analyst with Centrum Broking in Mumbai. “Also, there seems to be some pressure from the government to pay more.”
The federal government owns 79 per cent of Coal India, which has reported a year-over-year decline in earnings in the past three quarters.