JK Cement Emerges As Successful Bidder For Mahan Coal Mine In Madhya Pradesh

JK Cement Ltd. has emerged as the successful bidder for the Mahan coal mine in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli district, according to an exchange filing on Thursday.

The coal mine block has a total geological coal reserve of approximately 107.4 million tonnes, with a peak-rated capacity of 1.2 MT per annum. JKC emerged successful bidder under the commercial coal block e-auction held by the Ministry of Coal, it said.

This is the second commercial coal mine block won by JKC after the West of Shahdol (South) coal block, the filing stated. "The company is committed to become self-reliant for its existing cement plants and upcoming projects."

Since the mine is a commercial one, the surplus coal produced from the coal mine may be gainfully disposed off. JKC received the vesting order from the ministry in a ceremony at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. This is a key date for adhering to the time schedule for commencing the mining operation, it said.

JK Cement's consolidated net profit declined 23% to Rs 136.2 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year from Rs 175.7 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations slipped 7% to Rs 2,560.1 crore.

Shares of JK Cement closed 0.83% lower at Rs 4,580.70 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, compared to a 1.02% decline in the benchmark Nifty. The share price has risen 20.83% on a year-to-date basis.

Nineteen out of the 26 analysts tracking the company have a 'buy' rating on the stock, three recommend 'hold' and four suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts price targets implies a potential upside of 3.2%.