Coal India's spark diminishes further as dividend payout disappoints

Dividends have always been Coal India Ltd’s strong suit. This year, however, isn’t looking bright for investors on this count. The company’s interim dividend of ?5.85 per share, announced last week, is lower than the Street’s expectations. With this, the coal producer’s cumulative dividend so far for this fiscal year stands at ?13.1 per share. For FY18 and FY17, Coal India's dividend stood at ?16.5 and ?19.9 per share, respectively. Interestingly, payouts are lower in a year when profits are relatively higher.