Coal India Ltd., the world's largest coal mining company, may post its lowest earnings per share (EPS) in 8 years.
The company's current EPS stands at Rs 10.4 for the nine-month ended December 2016. This translates to Rs 13.9 on an annualised basis, the lowest since its listing in 2010. This despite a buyback of 1.7 percent of the equity share capital in the current financial year. A company's EPS usually goes up following a buyback as the number of shares reduce.
The coal miner announced an interim dividend of Rs 18.75 per share on Monday, the lowest in four years. International brokerage house CLSA had attributed the drop-in payout to the Rs 3,650-crore share buyback, coupled with a fall in bottom line and higher expenses.
The dividend payout and share buyback will lead to a total cash outflow of more than Rs 15,200 crore in financial year 2017.
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